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

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Canto 8 · Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations · 24 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 8 · Chapter 16: Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship
8.16.188.16.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 8.16.19

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Kaśyapa Munisince 8.16.19inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्‍व देहो भौतिकोऽनात्मा क्‍व चात्मा प्रकृते: पर: ।

कस्य के पतिपुत्राद्या मोह एव हि कारणम् ॥ १९ ॥

kva deho bhautiko ’nātmā

kva cātmā prakṛteḥ paraḥ

kasya ke pati-putrādyā

moha eva hi kāraṇam

Translation

Kaśyapa Muni continued: What is this material body, made of five elements? It is different from the spirit soul. Indeed, the spirit soul is completely different from the material elements from which the body is made. But because of bodily attachment, one is regarded as a husband or son. These illusory relationships are caused by misunderstanding.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Education Reveals Our True Identity

  1. 1

    The spirit soul is completely different from the body, which is made of five material elements. Bodily attachment gives rise to identities such as husband and son.

  2. 2

    Spiritual education teaches that the soul remains through bodily changes and enters another body at death. Our real self-interest concerns the soul, not merely bodily comfort.

  3. 3

    Without spiritual education, people act in ignorance of their future life. The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement offers the light of spiritual existence to save people from this risky life of irresponsibility.

Key points from the purport
  • The spirit soul (ātmā or jīva) is certainly different from the body, which is a combination of five material elements.
  • No one understands his real self-interest, which lies with the spirit soul, not with the material body.
  • Thus they are living in a very risky civilization, for it is a fact that the spirit soul has to transmigrate from one body to another (tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ).

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 8.16.19 quotesBG 2.13

The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.”

The purport of SB 8.16.19 quotesSB 5.5.1

Nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke kaṣṭān kāmān arhate vid-bhujāṁ ye. People are working so hard simply for bodily comforts, without education regarding the spirit soul.

The purport of SB 8.16.19 quotesSB 7.5.31

Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te ’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ. A foolish person does not know that he is completely under the bondage of material nature and that after death material nature will impose upon him a certain type of body, which he will have to accept.

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

Loss and hope → Revelation. A shift in fortune sets up a spiritual test.

Chapters 15–18 of Canto 8: Bali, Aditi and Vāmana's appearance. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: Executing the Payo-vrata Process of Worship

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Moved by Aditi’s request, Kaśyapa Muni instructed her in the philosophy of self-realization, the difference between matter and spirit, and how to be unaffected by material loss. But when he saw that Aditi was not satisfied even after he had given these instructions, he advised her to worship Vāsudeva, Janārdana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 8.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvawhere is
  2. dehaḥthis material body
  3. bhautikaḥmade of five elements
  4. anātmānot the spirit soul
  5. kvawhere is
  6. caalso
  7. ātmāthe spirit soul
  8. prakṛteḥto the material world
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 8.16

    In this verse: “attachment”, “material”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 8.16

    In this verse: “spirit soul”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 8.16

    In this verse: “death”

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 much of my daily effort serves only bodily comfort rather than spiritual understanding?

Practice

Spend a few minutes rereading this verse and purport, reflecting on the difference between the soul and the changing 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.

The purport quotesSB 5.5.1SB 7.5.31

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 8.16's connections

Live this todaySpiritual Education Reveals Our True IdentityThis 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 8.16.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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