The Dialogue Between Narada and King Prachinabarhi

Verse 1 (bhagavata.4.29.1)

प्राचीनबर्हिरुवाच भगवंस्ते वचोऽस्माभिर्न सम्यगवगम्यते । कवयस्तद्विजानन्ति न वयं कर्ममोहिताः ॥ 29.1 ॥

prācīnabarhir uvāca bhagavaṁs te vaco ’smābhir na samyag avagamyate kavayas tad vijānanti na vayaṁ karma-mohitāḥ

Prachinabarhi said: O lord, we have not fully understood your words. Only the wise truly know such things — we, deluded by fruitive works, do not.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.4.29.2)

नारद उवाच पुरुषं पुरञ्जनं विद्याद्यद् व्यनक्त्यात्मनः पुरम् । एकद्वित्रिचतुष्पादं बहुपादमपादकम् ॥ 29.2 ॥

nārada uvāca puruṣaṁ purañjanaṁ vidyād yad vyanakty ātmanaḥ puram eka-dvi-tri-catuṣ-pādaṁ bahu-pādam apādakam

Narada said: Know Puranjana to be the individual soul, who fashions for himself a city — a body with one leg, two, three, four, many legs, or none at all.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.4.29.3)

योऽविज्ञाताहृतस्तस्य पुरुषस्य सखेश्वरः । यन्न विज्ञायते पुम्भिर्नामभिर्वा क्रियागुणैः ॥ 29.3 ॥

yo ’vijñātāhṛtas tasya puruṣasya sakheśvaraḥ yan na vijñāyate pumbhir nāmabhir vā kriyā-guṇaiḥ

The one I called "the Unknown" is that soul's very friend and lord, who cannot be known by men through names, deeds or qualities.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.4.29.4)

यदा जिघृक्षन् पुरुषः कार्त्स्न्येन प्रकृतेर्गुणान् । नवद्वारं द्विहस्ताङ्घ्रि तत्रामनुत साध्विति ॥ 29.4 ॥

yadā jighṛkṣan puruṣaḥ kārtsnyena prakṛter guṇān nava-dvāraṁ dvi-hastāṅghri tatrāmanuta sādhv iti

When the soul desires to seize the qualities of material nature in full measure, he judges the nine-gated body, with its two hands and two feet, to be well-suited for it.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.4.29.5)

बुद्धिं तु प्रमदां विद्यान्ममाहमिति यत्कृतम् । यामधिष्ठाय देहेऽस्मिन् पुमान् भुङ्क्तेऽक्षभिर्गुणान् ॥ 29.5 ॥

buddhiṁ tu pramadāṁ vidyān mamāham iti yat-kṛtam yām adhiṣṭhāya dehe ’smin pumān bhuṅkte ’kṣabhir guṇān

Know the intelligence — the maker of "I" and "mine" — to be that woman; sheltering in her, the soul enjoys the qualities of nature through his senses within this body.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.4.29.6)

सखाय इन्द्रियगणा ज्ञानं कर्म च यत्कृतम् । सख्यस्तद्वृत्तयः प्राणः पञ्चवृत्तिर्यथोरगः ॥ 29.6 ॥

sakhāya indriya-gaṇā jñānaṁ karma ca yat-kṛtam sakhyas tad-vṛttayaḥ prāṇaḥ pañca-vṛttir yathoragaḥ

The male companions are the senses that acquire knowledge and perform action; their female companions are their respective activities; and the serpent, moving in five ways, is the vital air.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.4.29.7)

बृहद्बलं मनो विद्यादुभयेन्द्रियनायकम् । पञ्चालाः पञ्च विषया यन्मध्ये नवखं पुरम् ॥ 29.7 ॥

bṛhad-balaṁ mano vidyād ubhayendriya-nāyakam pañcālāḥ pañca viṣayā yan-madhye nava-khaṁ puram

Know Brihadbala, the eleventh companion, to be the mind, leader of both kinds of senses; the Panchalas are the five sense objects, and amid them stands this nine-gated city.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.4.29.8)

अक्षिणी नासिके कर्णौ मुखं शिश्नगुदाविति । द्वे द्वे द्वारौ बहिर्याति यस्तदिन्द्रियसंयुतः ॥ 29.8 ॥

akṣiṇī nāsike karṇau mukhaṁ śiśna-gudāv iti dve dve dvārau bahir yāti yas tad-indriya-saṁyutaḥ

The two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, the mouth, and the genital and anus — paired two by two — are the nine gates through which one, joined to the senses, goes out into the world.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.4.29.9)

अक्षिणी नासिके आस्यमिति पञ्चपुरः कृताः । दक्षिणा दक्षिणः कर्ण उत्तरा चोत्तरः स्मृतः । पश्चिमे इत्यधोद्वारौ गुदं शिश्नमिहोच्यते ॥ 29.9 ॥

akṣiṇī nāsike āsyam iti pañca puraḥ kṛtāḥ dakṣiṇā dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa uttarā cottaraḥ smṛtaḥ paścime ity adho dvārau gudaṁ śiśnam ihocyate

The two eyes, two nostrils and the mouth — five in all — form the eastern gates; the right ear is the southern gate, the left the northern; and the anus and genital below are called the two western gates.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.4.29.10)

खद्योताविर्मुखी चात्र नेत्रे एकत्र निर्मिते । रूपं विभ्राजितं ताभ्यां विचष्टे चक्षुषेश्वरः ॥ 29.10 ॥

khadyotāvirmukhī cātra netre ekatra nirmite rūpaṁ vibhrājitaṁ tābhyāṁ vicaṣṭe cakṣuṣeśvaraḥ

Khadyota and Avirmukhi are the two eyes, set together side by side; through them the lord of the eye beholds form, called Vibhrajita.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.4.29.11)

नलिनी नालिनी नासे गन्धः सौरभ उच्यते । घ्राणोऽवधूतो मुख्यास्यं विपणो वाग्रसविद्रसः ॥ 29.11 ॥

nalinī nālinī nāse gandhaḥ saurabha ucyate ghrāṇo ’vadhūto mukhyāsyaṁ vipaṇo vāg rasavid rasaḥ

Nalini and Nalini are the two nostrils, and fragrance is called Saurabha; the sense of smell is Avadhuta; the mouth is Mukhya, speech is Vipana, and the sense of taste, Rasajna, along with its object, flavor.

Verse 12 (bhagavata.4.29.12)

आपणो व्यवहारोऽत्र चित्रमन्धो बहूदनम् । पितृहूर्दक्षिणः कर्ण उत्तरो देवहूः स्मृतः ॥ 29.12 ॥

āpaṇo vyavahāro ’tra citram andho bahūdanam pitṛhūr dakṣiṇaḥ karṇa uttaro devahūḥ smṛtaḥ

Apana is the tongue's function of speech, and its varied object, Bahudana, is food; the right ear is called the gate Pitrihu, and the left, Devahu.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.4.29.13)

प्रवृत्तं च निवृत्तं च शास्त्रं पञ्चालसंज्ञितम् । पितृयानं देवयानं श्रोत्राच्छ्रुतधराद्व्रजेत् ॥ 29.13 ॥

pravṛttaṁ ca nivṛttaṁ ca śāstraṁ pañcāla-saṁjñitam pitṛ-yānaṁ deva-yānaṁ śrotrāc chruta-dharād vrajet

The scripture that inclines one toward sense enjoyment and the scripture that turns one away from it are named Dakshina-panchala and Uttara-panchala; through the ear, aided by Shrutadhara, one travels the path of the ancestors or the path of the gods.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.4.29.14)

आसुरी मेढ्रमर्वाग्द्वार्व्यवायो ग्रामिणां रतिः । उपस्थो दुर्मदः प्रोक्तो निऋर्तिर्गुद उच्यते ॥ 29.14 ॥

āsurī meḍhram arvāg-dvār vyavāyo grāmiṇāṁ ratiḥ upastho durmadaḥ prokto nirṛtir guda ucyate

Asuri is the genital, the lower gate through which sexual union — the delight of worldly people — takes place; the generative organ is called Durmada, and the anus is called Nirriti.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.4.29.15)

वैशसं नरकं पायुर्लुब्धकोऽन्धौ तु मे शृणु । हस्तपादौ पुमांस्ताभ्यां युक्तो याति करोति च ॥ 29.15 ॥

vaiśasaṁ narakaṁ pāyur lubdhako ’ndhau tu me śṛṇu hasta-pādau pumāṁs tābhyāṁ yukto yāti karoti ca

Vaishasa is hell, and the anus is called Lubdhaka; now hear from me about the two blind ones — they are the hands and the feet, joined to which the soul moves about and does his deeds.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.4.29.16)

अन्तःपुरं च हृदयं विषूचिर्मन उच्यते । तत्र मोहं प्रसादं वा हर्षं प्राप्नोति तद्गुणैः ॥ 29.16 ॥

antaḥ-puraṁ ca hṛdayaṁ viṣūcir mana ucyate tatra mohaṁ prasādaṁ vā harṣaṁ prāpnoti tad-guṇaiḥ

The inner chamber is the heart, and Vishuchina is called the mind; there, through the influence of the gunas, one comes to feel delusion, contentment, or joy.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.4.29.17)

यथा यथा विक्रियते गुणाक्तो विकरोति वा । तथा तथोपद्रष्टात्मा तद्वृत्तीरनुकार्यते ॥ 29.17 ॥

yathā yathā vikriyate guṇākto vikaroti vā tathā tathopadraṣṭātmā tad-vṛttīr anukāryate

As the mind, tinged by the gunas, is stirred or stirs other things in turn, so the witnessing self is made to imitate its movements.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.4.29.18)

देहो रथस्त्विन्द्रियाश्वः संवत्सररयोऽगतिः । द्विकर्मचक्रस्त्रिगुणध्वजः पञ्चासुबन्धुरः ॥ 29.18 ॥

deho rathas tv indriyāśvaḥ saṁvatsara-rayo ’gatiḥ dvi-karma-cakras tri-guṇa- dhvajaḥ pañcāsu-bandhuraḥ

The body is the chariot, the senses its horses, whose speed is the years going by — though it carries one nowhere; its two wheels are righteous and unrighteous deeds, its banners the three gunas, its harness the five vital airs.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.4.29.19)

मनोरश्मिर्बुद्धिसूतो हृन्नीडो द्वन्द्वकूबरः । पञ्चेन्द्रियार्थप्रक्षेपः सप्तधातुवरूथकः ॥ 29.19 ॥

mano-raśmir buddhi-sūto hṛn-nīḍo dvandva-kūbaraḥ pañcendriyārtha-prakṣepaḥ sapta-dhātu-varūthakaḥ

Its rein is the mind, its charioteer the intelligence, its seat the heart, its yoke the pairs of opposites; its load, the five sense objects; its outer covering, the seven bodily elements.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.4.29.20)

आकूतिर्विक्रमो बाह्यो मृगतृष्णां प्रधावति । एकादशेन्द्रियचमूः पञ्चसूनाविनोदकृत् ॥ 29.20 ॥

ākūtir vikramo bāhyo mṛga-tṛṣṇāṁ pradhāvati ekādaśendriya-camūḥ pañca-sūnā-vinoda-kṛt

Its outward driving force is intention, and it races after a mirage; its army is the eleven senses, and it takes its pleasure amid the five places of slaughter that sense gratification entails.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.4.29.21)

संवत्सरश्चण्डवेगः कालो येनोपलक्षितः । तस्याहानीह गन्धर्वा गन्धर्व्यो रात्रयः स्मृताः । हरन्त्यायुः परिक्रान्त्या षष्ट्युत्तरशतत्रयम् ॥ 29.21 ॥

saṁvatsaraś caṇḍavegaḥ kālo yenopalakṣitaḥ tasyāhānīha gandharvā gandharvyo rātrayaḥ smṛtāḥ haranty āyuḥ parikrāntyā ṣaṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam

Chandavega is the year, by which time itself is marked; its days are the Gandharvas and its nights the Gandharvis — three hundred and sixty in number — and by their revolving they steal away one's lifespan.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.4.29.22)

कालकन्या जरा साक्षाल्लोकस्तां नाभिनन्दति । स्वसारं जगृहे मृत्युः क्षयाय यवनेश्वरः ॥ 29.22 ॥

kāla-kanyā jarā sākṣāl lokas tāṁ nābhinandati svasāraṁ jagṛhe mṛtyuḥ kṣayāya yavaneśvaraḥ

Kalakanya is old age itself, whom no one in this world welcomes; Yavaneshvara, who is death, took her as his own sister, for the destruction of all beings.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.4.29.23)

आधयो व्याधयस्तस्य सैनिका यवनाश्चराः । भूतोपसर्गाशुरयः प्रज्वारो द्विविधो ज्वरः ॥ 29.23 ॥

ādhayo vyādhayas tasya sainikā yavanāś carāḥ bhūtopasargāśu-rayaḥ prajvāro dvi-vidho jvaraḥ

His roaming soldiers, the Yavanas, are the mental anguishes and bodily diseases — swift-striking afflictions brought on by other beings; Prajvara is fever, of two kinds.

Verse 24 (bhagavata.4.29.24)

एवं बहुविधैर्दुःखैर्दैवभूतात्मसम्भवैः । क्लिश्यमानः शतं वर्षं देहे देही तमोवृतः ॥ 29.24 ॥

evaṁ bahu-vidhair duḥkhair daiva-bhūtātma-sambhavaiḥ kliśyamānaḥ śataṁ varṣaṁ dehe dehī tamo-vṛtaḥ

Thus afflicted by manifold sufferings arising from fate, from other beings, and from his own body and mind, the embodied soul, wrapped in darkness, is tormented for a hundred years within the body.

Verse 25 (bhagavata.4.29.25)

प्राणेन्द्रियमनोधर्मानात्मन्यध्यस्य निर्गुणः । शेते कामलवान्ध्यायन्ममाहमिति कर्मकृत् ॥ 29.25 ॥

prāṇendriya-mano-dharmān ātmany adhyasya nirguṇaḥ śete kāma-lavān dhyāyan mamāham iti karma-kṛt

Though beyond the gunas by his own nature, he superimposes upon the self the functions of the vital air, the senses and the mind, and, brooding over fragments of desire, goes on acting under the delusion of "I" and "mine."

Verse 26 (bhagavata.4.29.26)

यदात्मानमविज्ञाय भगवन्तं परं गुरुम् । पुरुषस्तु विषज्जेत गुणेषु प्रकृतेः स्वदृक् ॥ 29.26 ॥

yadātmānam avijñāya bhagavantaṁ paraṁ gurum puruṣas tu viṣajjeta guṇeṣu prakṛteḥ sva-dṛk

When the soul, though himself the seer, fails to know his own self and the Supreme Lord, his highest guide, he becomes entangled in the qualities of material nature.

Verse 27 (bhagavata.4.29.27)

गुणाभिमानी स तदा कर्माणि कुरुतेऽवशः । शुक्लं कृष्णं लोहितं वा यथाकर्माभिजायते ॥ 29.27 ॥

guṇābhimānī sa tadā karmāṇi kurute ’vaśaḥ śuklaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ lohitaṁ vā yathā-karmābhijāyate

Then, identifying himself with the gunas, he performs actions helplessly, and according to those very deeds he is born into the white, the black, or the red mode.

Verse 28 (bhagavata.4.29.28)

शुक्लात्प्रकाशभूयिष्ठाँल्लोकानाप्नोति कर्हिचित् । दुःखोदर्कान् क्रियायासांस्तमःशोकोत्कटान् क्वचित् ॥ 29.28 ॥

śuklāt prakāśa-bhūyiṣṭhāḻ lokān āpnoti karhicit duḥkhodarkān kriyāyāsāṁs tamaḥ-śokotkaṭān kvacit

From the white mode he sometimes attains worlds full of light; from the red, worlds of toilsome activity that end in sorrow; and from the black, worlds thick with darkness and grief.

Verse 29 (bhagavata.4.29.29)

क्वचित्पुमान् क्वचिच्च स्त्री क्वचिन्नोभयमन्धधीः । देवो मनुष्यस्तिर्यग्वा यथाकर्मगुणं भवः ॥ 29.29 ॥

kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ devo manuṣyas tiryag vā yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ

Sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes, his understanding blinded, neither one — a god, a man, or a beast — his birth is shaped by the guna of his deeds.

Verse 30 (bhagavata.4.29.30)

क्षुत्परीतो यथा दीनः सारमेयो गृहं गृहम् । चरन्विन्दति यद्दिष्टं दण्डमोदनमेव वा ॥ 29.30 ॥

kṣut-parīto yathā dīnaḥ sārameyo gṛhaṁ gṛham caran vindati yad-diṣṭaṁ daṇḍam odanam eva vā

Just as a wretched dog, gripped by hunger, wanders from house to house and receives, according to its own fate, sometimes a blow, sometimes a scrap of food —

Verse 31 (bhagavata.4.29.31)

तथा कामाशयो जीव उच्चावचपथा भ्रमन् । उपर्यधो वा मध्ये वा याति दिष्टं प्रियाप्रियम् ॥ 29.31 ॥

tathā kāmāśayo jīva uccāvaca-pathā bhraman upary adho vā madhye vā yāti diṣṭaṁ priyāpriyam

so too the soul, its heart laden with desire, wanders through paths both high and low, going, as fate decrees, to what is pleasant or unpleasant — whether above, below, or in between.

Verse 32 (bhagavata.4.29.32)

दुःखेष्वेकतरेणापि दैवभूतात्महेतुषु । जीवस्य न व्यवच्छेदः स्याच्चेत्तत्तत्प्रतिक्रिया ॥ 29.32 ॥

duḥkheṣv ekatareṇāpi daiva-bhūtātma-hetuṣu jīvasya na vyavacchedaḥ syāc cet tat-tat-pratikriyā

Even by countering one or another of the sufferings that arise from providence, from other beings, or from oneself, the soul finds no real release from them through such remedies.

Verse 33 (bhagavata.4.29.33)

यथा हि पुरुषो भारं शिरसा गुरुमुद्वहन् । तं स्कन्धेन स आधत्ते तथा सर्वाः प्रतिक्रियाः ॥ 29.33 ॥

yathā hi puruṣo bhāraṁ śirasā gurum udvahan taṁ skandhena sa ādhatte tathā sarvāḥ pratikriyāḥ

Just as a man carrying a heavy load on his head merely shifts it onto his shoulder instead — so it is with every such remedy.

Verse 34 (bhagavata.4.29.34)

नैकान्ततः प्रतीकारः कर्मणां कर्म केवलम् । द्वयं ह्यविद्योपसृतं स्वप्ने स्वप्न इवानघ ॥ 29.34 ॥

naikāntataḥ pratīkāraḥ karmaṇāṁ karma kevalam dvayaṁ hy avidyopasṛtaṁ svapne svapna ivānagha

O sinless one, mere action alone can never be the final cure for action, since both belong equally to ignorance — like trying to counter one dream with another dream.

Verse 35 (bhagavata.4.29.35)

अर्थे ह्यविद्यमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते । मनसा लिङ्गरूपेण स्वप्ने विचरतो यथा ॥ 29.35 ॥

arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate manasā liṅga-rūpeṇa svapne vicarato yathā

Just as one wandering in a dream, taking form through the mind alone, suffers though the object is not truly there, material bondage likewise does not end simply because its object does not really exist.

Verse 36 (bhagavata.4.29.36)

अथात्मनोऽर्थभूतस्य यतोऽनर्थपरम्परा । संसृतिस्तद्वयवच्छेदो भक्त्या परमया गुरौ ॥ 29.36 ॥

athātmano ’rtha-bhūtasya yato ’nartha-paramparā saṁsṛtis tad-vyavacchedo bhaktyā paramayā gurau

The true good of the soul, then, lies in cutting off this endless chain of misfortune that is worldly existence — and that severance comes about only through supreme devotion to the spiritual master.

Verse 37 (bhagavata.4.29.37)

वासुदेवे भगवति भक्तियोगः समाहितः । सध्रीचीनेन वैराग्यं ज्ञानं च जनयिष्यति ॥ 29.37 ॥

vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ samāhitaḥ sadhrīcīnena vairāgyaṁ jñānaṁ ca janayiṣyati

Devotion firmly fixed upon Bhagavan Vasudeva will, proceeding in its proper course, give rise both to genuine detachment and to true knowledge.

Verse 38 (bhagavata.4.29.38)

सोऽचिरादेव राजर्षे स्यादच्युतकथाश्रयः । शृण्वतः श्रद्दधानस्य नित्यदा स्यादधीयतः ॥ 29.38 ॥

so ’cirād eva rājarṣe syād acyuta-kathāśrayaḥ śṛṇvataḥ śraddadhānasya nityadā syād adhīyataḥ

O royal sage, one who, with faith, constantly listens to and constantly studies the accounts of the infallible Lord will very soon come to take shelter in them.

Verse 39 (bhagavata.4.29.39)

यत्र भागवता राजन् साधवो विशदाशयाः । भगवद्गुणानुकथनश्रवणव्यग्रचेतसः ॥ 29.39 ॥

yatra bhāgavatā rājan sādhavo viśadāśayāḥ bhagavad-guṇānukathana- śravaṇa-vyagra-cetasaḥ

O King, in that place where pure-hearted devotees of the Lord gather, their minds absorbed in speaking and hearing his glories —

Verse 40 (bhagavata.4.29.40)

तस्मिन्महन्मुखरिता मधुभिच्चरित्र- पीयूषशेषसरितः परितः स्रवन्ति । ता ये पिबन्त्यवितृषो नृप गाढकर्णै- स्तान्न स्पृशन्त्यशनतृड्भयशोकमोहाः ॥ 29.40 ॥

tasmin mahan-mukharitā madhubhic-caritra- pīyūṣa-śeṣa-saritaḥ paritaḥ sravanti tā ye pibanty avitṛṣo nṛpa gāḍha-karṇais tān na spṛśanty aśana-tṛḍ-bhaya-śoka-mohāḥ

there, on every side, flow rivers of nectar — the deeds of Madhusudana, spoken by great souls; O King, those who drink of them with open ears, never satiated, are never touched by hunger, thirst, fear, grief, or delusion.

Verse 41 (bhagavata.4.29.41)

एतैरुपद्रुतो नित्यं जीवलोकः स्वभावजैः । न करोति हरेर्नूनं कथामृतनिधौ रतिम् ॥ 29.41 ॥

etair upadruto nityaṁ jīva-lokaḥ svabhāvajaiḥ na karoti harer nūnaṁ kathāmṛta-nidhau ratim

Constantly harassed by these afflictions born of his own nature, the worldly being truly cannot form any attachment to that ocean of nectar which is the Lord's story.

Verse 42 (bhagavata.4.29.42)

प्रजापतिपतिः साक्षाद्भगवान् गिरिशो मनुः । दक्षादयः प्रजाध्यक्षा नैष्ठिकाः सनकादयः ॥ 29.42 ॥

prajāpati-patiḥ sākṣād bhagavān giriśo manuḥ dakṣādayaḥ prajādhyakṣā naiṣṭhikāḥ sanakādayaḥ

Brahma himself, lord of the Prajapatis; Bhagavan Girisha; Manu; the rulers of progeny beginning with Daksha; the eternal celibates headed by Sanaka —

Verse 43 (bhagavata.4.29.43)

मरीचिरत्र्यङ्गिरसौ पुलस्त्यः पुलहः क्रतुः । भृगुर्वसिष्ठ इत्येते मदन्ता ब्रह्मवादिनः ॥ 29.43 ॥

marīcir atry-aṅgirasau pulastyaḥ pulahaḥ kratuḥ bhṛgur vasiṣṭha ity ete mad-antā brahma-vādinaḥ

Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Bhrigu, Vasishtha — these, down to myself, are all speakers of Brahman —

Verse 44 (bhagavata.4.29.44)

अद्यापि वाचस्पतयस्तपोविद्यासमाधिभिः । पश्यन्तोऽपि न पश्यन्ति पश्यन्तं परमेश्वरम् ॥ 29.44 ॥

adyāpi vācas-patayas tapo-vidyā-samādhibhiḥ paśyanto ’pi na paśyanti paśyantaṁ parameśvaram

even now these masters of speech, for all their austerity, learning and meditation, though seeing, do not truly see the Supreme Lord, who sees everything.

Verse 45 (bhagavata.4.29.45)

शब्दब्रह्मणि दुष्पारे चरन्त उरुविस्तरे । मन्त्रलिङ्गैर्व्यवच्छिन्नं भजन्तो न विदुः परम् ॥ 29.45 ॥

śabda-brahmaṇi duṣpāre caranta uru-vistare mantra-liṅgair vyavacchinnaṁ bhajanto na viduḥ param

Roaming through that vast, uncrossable ocean of the sound-Brahman, worshiping only what is bounded by the marks of mantras, they fail to know the Supreme.

Verse 46 (bhagavata.4.29.46)

यदा यस्यानुगृह्णाति भगवानात्मभावितः । स जहाति मतिं लोके वेदे च परिनिष्ठिताम् ॥ 29.46 ॥

yadā yasyānugṛhṇāti bhagavān ātma-bhāvitaḥ sa jahāti matiṁ loke vede ca pariniṣṭhitām

But when Bhagavan, abiding within the self, bestows His grace upon someone, that person lets go of his fixed reliance both on worldly ways and on the Vedas.

Verse 47 (bhagavata.4.29.47)

तस्मात्कर्मसु बर्हिष्मन्नज्ञानादर्थकाशिषु । मार्थदृष्टिं कृथाः श्रोत्रस्पर्शिष्वस्पृष्टवस्तुषु ॥ 29.47 ॥

tasmāt karmasu barhiṣmann ajñānād artha-kāśiṣu mārtha-dṛṣṭiṁ kṛthāḥ śrotra- sparśiṣv aspṛṣṭa-vastuṣu

Therefore, O Barhishman, do not, out of ignorance, fix your sight on gain in those ritual activities which merely please the ear but touch no real substance.

Verse 48 (bhagavata.4.29.48)

स्वं लोकं न विदुस्ते वै यत्र देवो जनार्दनः । आहुर्धूम्रधियो वेदं सकर्मकमतद्विदः ॥ 29.48 ॥

svaṁ lokaṁ na vidus te vai yatra devo janārdanaḥ āhur dhūmra-dhiyo vedaṁ sakarmakam atad-vidaḥ

Those of clouded understanding, not knowing their own true home where Bhagavan Janardana dwells, take the Vedas, out of that same ignorance, to consist only of ritual action.

Verse 49 (bhagavata.4.29.49)

आस्तीर्य दर्भैः प्रागग्रैः कार्त्स्न्येन क्षितिमण्डलम् । स्तब्धो बृहद्वधान्मानी कर्म नावैषि यत्परम् । तत्कर्म हरितोषं यत्सा विद्या तन्मतिर्यया ॥ 29.49 ॥

āstīrya darbhaiḥ prāg-agraiḥ kārtsnyena kṣiti-maṇḍalam stabdho bṛhad-vadhān mānī karma nāvaiṣi yat param tat karma hari-toṣaṁ yat sā vidyā tan-matir yayā

Having spread kusha grass, points turned east, over the whole expanse of the earth, and grown proud through your great sacrifices, you do not yet know that action which lies beyond this; only that action is worthwhile which pleases Hari, and only that is true knowledge which brings such understanding.

Verse 50 (bhagavata.4.29.50)

हरिर्देहभृतामात्मा स्वयं प्रकृतिरीश्वरः । तत्पादमूलं शरणं यतः क्षेमो नृणामिह ॥ 29.50 ॥

harir deha-bhṛtām ātmā svayaṁ prakṛtir īśvaraḥ tat-pāda-mūlaṁ śaraṇaṁ yataḥ kṣemo nṛṇām iha

Hari is himself the very self of all embodied beings, and himself the Lord and source of material nature; the refuge of his feet alone brings true welfare to men in this world.

Verse 51 (bhagavata.4.29.51)

स वै प्रियतमश्चात्मा यतो न भयमण्वपि । इति वेद स वै विद्वान्यो विद्वान्स गुरुर्हरिः ॥ 29.51 ॥

sa vai priyatamaś cātmā yato na bhayam aṇv api iti veda sa vai vidvān yo vidvān sa gurur hariḥ

He alone is the dearest self of all, from whom there is not the slightest fear; one who knows this is truly wise, and one who is truly wise in this is, in effect, Hari himself acting as guru.

Verse 52 (bhagavata.4.29.52)

नारद उवाच प्रश्न एवं हि सञ्छिन्नो भवतः पुरुषर्षभ । अत्र मे वदतो गुह्यं निशामय सुनिश्चितम् ॥ 29.52 ॥

nārada uvāca praśna evaṁ hi sañchinno bhavataḥ puruṣarṣabha atra me vadato guhyaṁ niśāmaya suniścitam

Narada said: Thus, O best of men, your question has now been fully resolved; now listen to this settled, confidential truth as I speak it.

Verse 53 (bhagavata.4.29.53)

क्षुद्रं चरं सुमनसां शरणे मिथित्वा रक्तं षडङ्घ्रिगणसामसु लुब्धकर्णम् । अग्रे वृकानसुतृपोऽविगणय्य यान्तं पृष्ठे मृगं मृगय लुब्धकबाणभिन्नम् ॥ 29.53 ॥

kṣudraṁ caraṁ sumanasāṁ śaraṇe mithitvā raktaṁ ṣaḍaṅghri-gaṇa-sāmasu lubdha-karṇam agre vṛkān asu-tṛpo ’vigaṇayya yāntaṁ pṛṣṭhe mṛgaṁ mṛgaya lubdhaka-bāṇa-bhinnam

Seek out that small deer, wandering with its mate in the shelter of flowers, its ears captivated by the humming song of the bees, heedless of the flesh-eating wolves ahead of it and the hunter's arrow behind it, about to pierce it through.

Verse 54 (bhagavata.4.29.54)

सुमनःसमधर्मणां स्त्रीणां शरण आश्रमे पुष्पमधुगन्धवत्क्षुद्रतमं काम्यकर्मविपाकजं कामसुखलवं जैह्व्यौपस्थ्यादि विचिन्वन्तं मिथुनीभूय तदभिनिवेशितमनसंषडङ्घ्रिगणसामगीत वदतिमनोहरवनितादिजनालापेष्वतितरामतिप्रलोभितकर्णमग्रे वृकयूथवदात्मन आयुर्हरतोऽहोरात्रान्तान् काललवविशेषानविगणय्य गृहेषु विहरन्तं पृष्ठत एव परोक्षमनुप्रवृत्तो लुब्धकः कृतान्तोऽन्तःशरेण यमिह पराविध्यति तमिममात्मानमहो राजन् भिन्नहृदयं द्रष्टुमर्हसीति ॥ 29.54 ॥

sumanaḥ-sama-dharmaṇāṁ strīṇāṁ śaraṇa āśrame puṣpa-madhu-gandhavat kṣudratamaṁ kāmya-karma-vipākajaṁ kāma-sukha-lavaṁ jaihvyaupasthyādi vicinvantaṁ mithunī-bhūya tad-abhiniveśita-manasaṁ ṣaḍaṅghri-gaṇa-sāma-gītavad atimanohara-vanitādi-janālāpeṣv atitarām atipralobhita-karṇam agre vṛka-yūthavad ātmana āyur harato ’ho-rātrān tān kāla-lava-viśeṣān avigaṇayya gṛheṣu viharantaṁ pṛṣṭhata eva parokṣam anupravṛtto lubdhakaḥ kṛtānto ’ntaḥ śareṇa yam iha parāvidhyati tam imam ātmānam aho rājan bhinna-hṛdayaṁ draṣṭum arhasīti.

Women, whose nature is like a flower — alluring at first, like fragrance and honey, yet in the end most trivial, mere fruit of desire-driven deeds — become the refuge in which a man, joined with them, seeks the merest fragment of pleasure through tongue and sex. Just as bees hum from flower to flower, so, his ears utterly enchanted by the sweet talk of a beautiful woman and his children, he wanders about his home, never noticing the days and nights that, wolflike, are stealing away his life, nor Death the hunter, who has crept up unseen behind him and now strikes with his hidden arrow. O King, you should now see your own self as this very deer, its heart already pierced through.

Verse 55 (bhagavata.4.29.55)

स त्वं विचक्ष्य मृगचेष्टितमात्मनोऽन्त- श्चित्तं नियच्छ हृदि कर्णधुनीं च चित्ते । जह्यङ्गनाश्रममसत्तमयूथगाथं प्रीणीहि हंसशरणं विरम क्रमेण ॥ 29.55 ॥

sa tvaṁ vicakṣya mṛga-ceṣṭitam ātmano ’ntaś cittaṁ niyaccha hṛdi karṇa-dhunīṁ ca citte jahy aṅganāśramam asattama-yūtha-gāthaṁ prīṇīhi haṁsa-śaraṇaṁ virama krameṇa

Seeing thus in the deer's conduct your very own, draw your mind inward and fix it upon the heart, and turn the current of your hearing there too; abandon the household of woman with its base, common talk, take loving shelter in the swans, the liberated souls, and withdraw, step by step.

Verse 56 (bhagavata.4.29.56)

राजोवाच श्रुतमन्वीक्षितं ब्रह्मन् भगवान् यदभाषत । नैतज्जानन्त्युपाध्यायाः किं न ब्रूयुर्विदुर्यदि ॥ 29.56 ॥

rājovāca śrutam anvīkṣitaṁ brahman bhagavān yad abhāṣata naitaj jānanty upādhyāyāḥ kiṁ na brūyur vidur yadi

The King said: O brahmana, I have heard and pondered all that you, a manifestation of Bhagavan, have spoken. My own teachers did not know this — had they known, why would they not have told me?

Verse 57 (bhagavata.4.29.57)

संशयोऽत्र तु मे विप्र सञ्छिन्नस्तत्कृतो महान् । ऋषयोऽपि हि मुह्यन्ति यत्र नेन्द्रियवृत्तयः ॥ 29.57 ॥

saṁśayo ’tra tu me vipra sañchinnas tat-kṛto mahān ṛṣayo ’pi hi muhyanti yatra nendriya-vṛttayaḥ

O brahmana, a great doubt of mine, arising from that very teaching, has now been cut away — for even the sages grow bewildered where the workings of the senses have no place at all.

Verse 58 (bhagavata.4.29.58)

कर्माण्यारभते येन पुमानिह विहाय तम् । अमुत्रान्येन देहेन जुष्टानि स यदश्नुते ॥ 29.58 ॥

karmāṇy ārabhate yena pumān iha vihāya tam amutrānyena dehena juṣṭāni sa yad aśnute

[The King asked:] The body with which a man begins his actions here, he leaves behind; how then, in another body, elsewhere, does he come to enjoy the fruits of those very actions?

Verse 59 (bhagavata.4.29.59)

इति वेदविदां वादः श्रूयते तत्र तत्र ह । कर्म यत्क्रियते प्रोक्तं परोक्षं न प्रकाशते ॥ 29.59 ॥

iti veda-vidāṁ vādaḥ śrūyate tatra tatra ha karma yat kriyate proktaṁ parokṣaṁ na prakāśate

Such is the argument one hears here and there among those learned in the Veda — yet the workings of an action said to bear fruit unseen remain unexplained.

Verse 60 (bhagavata.4.29.60)

नारद उवाच येनैवारभते कर्म तेनैवामुत्र तत्पुमान् । भुङ्क्ते ह्यव्यवधानेन लिङ्गेन मनसा स्वयम् ॥ 29.60 ॥

nārada uvāca yenaivārabhate karma tenaivāmutra tat pumān bhuṅkte hy avyavadhānena liṅgena manasā svayam

Narada said: With that very same subtle body — the mind — with which a man begins his action, he himself, without any real break, goes on to enjoy its fruit in the next life too.

Verse 61 (bhagavata.4.29.61)

शयानमिममुत्सृज्य श्वसन्तं पुरुषो यथा । कर्मात्मन्याहितं भुङ्क्ते तादृशेनेतरेण वा ॥ 29.61 ॥

śayānam imam utsṛjya śvasantaṁ puruṣo yathā karmātmany āhitaṁ bhuṅkte tādṛśenetareṇa vā

Just as a man leaves behind his sleeping, still-breathing body and, in a dream, experiences what his own past deeds have stored up within him, so too, in a body like this one or unlike it, he enjoys the fruit of his actions.

Verse 62 (bhagavata.4.29.62)

ममैते मनसा यद्यदसावहमिति ब्रुवन् । गृह्णीयात्तत्पुमान् राद्धं कर्म येन पुनर्भवः ॥ 29.62 ॥

mamaite manasā yad yad asāv aham iti bruvan gṛhṇīyāt tat pumān rāddhaṁ karma yena punar bhavaḥ

Whatever a man, thinking "these are mine" and "I am this one," takes up in his mind, that becomes the action truly accomplished by him — the very cause that brings about his rebirth.

Verse 63 (bhagavata.4.29.63)

यथानुमीयते चित्तमुभयैरिन्द्रियेहितैः । एवं प्राग्देहजं कर्म लक्ष्यते चित्तवृत्तिभिः ॥ 29.63 ॥

yathānumīyate cittam ubhayair indriyehitaiḥ evaṁ prāg-dehajaṁ karma lakṣyate citta-vṛttibhiḥ

Just as the state of the mind is inferred from the activity of both kinds of senses, so the deeds done in an earlier body are recognized through the movements of the mind.

Verse 64 (bhagavata.4.29.64)

नानुभूतं क्व चानेन देहेनादृष्टमश्रुतम् । कदाचिदुपलभ्येत यद्रूपं यादृगात्मनि ॥ 29.64 ॥

nānubhūtaṁ kva cānena dehenādṛṣṭam aśrutam kadācid upalabhyeta yad rūpaṁ yādṛg ātmani

Nothing that was never experienced, seen, or heard in this present body can ever appear within the self, in whatever form it may seem to take.

Verse 65 (bhagavata.4.29.65)

तेनास्य तादृशं राजँल्लिङ्गिनो देहसम्भवम् । श्रद्धत्स्वाननुभूतोऽर्थो न मनः स्प्रष्टुमर्हति ॥ 29.65 ॥

tenāsya tādṛśaṁ rājaḻ liṅgino deha-sambhavam śraddhatsvānanubhūto ’rtho na manaḥ spraṣṭum arhati

Therefore, O King, understand that such impressions of this soul arise from some body it has had before — for a thing never experienced cannot even touch the mind at all.

Verse 66 (bhagavata.4.29.66)

मन एव मनुष्यस्य पूर्वरूपाणि शंसति । भविष्यतश्च भद्रं ते तथैव न भविष्यतः ॥ 29.66 ॥

mana eva manuṣyasya pūrva-rūpāṇi śaṁsati bhaviṣyataś ca bhadraṁ te tathaiva na bhaviṣyataḥ

May good come to you: it is the mind alone that discloses a man's past forms, and, in the same way, his future ones — or the absence of any future form at all.

Verse 67 (bhagavata.4.29.67)

अदृष्टमश्रुतं चात्र क्वचिन्मनसि दृश्यते । यथा तथानुमन्तव्यं देशकालक्रियाश्रयम् ॥ 29.67 ॥

adṛṣṭam aśrutaṁ cātra kvacin manasi dṛśyate yathā tathānumantavyaṁ deśa-kāla-kriyāśrayam

When something never seen or heard sometimes appears in the mind, it should be understood, accordingly, as belonging to some other place, time, or action.

Verse 68 (bhagavata.4.29.68)

सर्वे क्रमानुरोधेन मनसीन्द्रियगोचराः । आयान्ति बहुशो यान्ति सर्वे समनसो जनाः ॥ 29.68 ॥

sarve kramānurodhena manasīndriya-gocarāḥ āyānti bahuśo yānti sarve samanaso janāḥ

In accordance with their own sequence, all objects of the senses come again and again into the mind and pass away from it — this happens to every being that has a mind.

Verse 69 (bhagavata.4.29.69)

सत्त्वैकनिष्ठे मनसि भगवत्पार्श्ववर्तिनि । तमश्चन्द्रमसीवेदमुपरज्यावभासते ॥ 29.69 ॥

sattvaika-niṣṭhe manasi bhagavat-pārśva-vartini tamaś candramasīvedam uparajyāvabhāsate

When the mind rests wholly in goodness and stays close to Bhagavan, this darkness of illusion appears upon it only as an eclipse appears upon the moon.

Verse 70 (bhagavata.4.29.70)

नाहं ममेति भावोऽयं पुरुषे व्यवधीयते । यावद् बुद्धिमनोऽक्षार्थगुणव्यूहो ह्यनादिमान् ॥ 29.70 ॥

nāhaṁ mameti bhāvo ’yaṁ puruṣe vyavadhīyate yāvad buddhi-mano-’kṣārtha- guṇa-vyūho hy anādimān

This sense of "I" and "mine" continues to veil the soul only so long as that beginningless array of intelligence, mind, senses, sense objects and gunas persists.

Verse 71 (bhagavata.4.29.71)

सुप्तिमूर्च्छोपतापेषु प्राणायनविघाततः । नेहतेऽहमिति ज्ञानं मृत्युप्रज्वारयोरपि ॥ 29.71 ॥

supti-mūrcchopatāpeṣu prāṇāyana-vighātataḥ nehate ’ham iti jñānaṁ mṛtyu-prajvārayor api

In deep sleep, in fainting, in severe illness, when the movement of the life-breath is checked, and even in death and in burning fever, that sense of "I am" does not operate at all.

Verse 72 (bhagavata.4.29.72)

गर्भे बाल्येऽप्यपौष्कल्यादेकादशविधं तदा । लिङ्गं न दृश्यते यूनः कुह्वां चन्द्रमसो यथा ॥ 29.72 ॥

garbhe bālye ’py apauṣkalyād ekādaśa-vidhaṁ tadā liṅgaṁ na dṛśyate yūnaḥ kuhvāṁ candramaso yathā

In the womb, and even in infancy, because it is not yet fully developed, the youth's elevenfold subtle body remains unseen — just as the moon stays hidden on the night of the new moon.

Verse 73 (bhagavata.4.29.73)

अर्थे ह्यविद्यमानेऽपि संसृतिर्न निवर्तते । ध्यायतो विषयानस्य स्वप्नेऽनर्थागमो यथा ॥ 29.73 ॥

arthe hy avidyamāne ’pi saṁsṛtir na nivartate dhyāyato viṣayān asya svapne ’narthāgamo yathā

Even when the object itself does not truly exist, material bondage does not cease — just as, for one who dwells on sense objects even in a dream, misfortune still comes about.

Verse 74 (bhagavata.4.29.74)

एवं पञ्चविधं लिङ्गं त्रिवृत् षोडश विस्तृतम् । एष चेतनया युक्तो जीव इत्यभिधीयते ॥ 29.74 ॥

evaṁ pañca-vidhaṁ liṅgaṁ tri-vṛt ṣoḍaśa vistṛtam eṣa cetanayā yukto jīva ity abhidhīyate

Thus this fivefold subtle body, rendered threefold and spread out into sixteen parts, when joined with consciousness, is called the jiva, the living being.

Verse 75 (bhagavata.4.29.75)

अनेन पुरुषो देहानुपादत्ते विमुञ्चति । हर्षं शोकं भयं दुःखं सुखं चानेन विन्दति ॥ 29.75 ॥

anena puruṣo dehān upādatte vimuñcati harṣaṁ śokaṁ bhayaṁ duḥkhaṁ sukhaṁ cānena vindati

By means of this subtle body the soul takes on bodies and lets them go again, and through it he comes to know joy, grief, fear, suffering and happiness.

Verse 76 (bhagavata.4.29.76)

यथा तृणजलूकेयं नापयात्यपयाति च । न त्यजेन्म्रियमाणोऽपि प्राग्देहाभिमतिं जनः ॥ 29.76 ॥

yathā tṛṇa-jalūkeyaṁ nāpayāty apayāti ca na tyajen mriyamāṇo ’pi prāg-dehābhimatiṁ janaḥ

Just as the leech on a blade of grass does not release one hold until it has grasped the next, so a man, even in the act of dying, does not give up his attachment to his former body.

Verse 77 (bhagavata.4.29.77)

यावदन्यं न विन्देत व्यवधानेन कर्मणाम् । मन एव मनुष्येन्द्र भूतानां भवभावनम् ॥ 29.77 ॥

yāvad anyaṁ na vindeta vyavadhānena karmaṇām mana eva manuṣyendra bhūtānāṁ bhava-bhāvanam

until, through the mediating force of his own deeds, he obtains another body; for, O lord of men, it is the mind alone that fashions the continued becoming of all beings.

Verse 78 (bhagavata.4.29.78)

यदाक्षैश्चरितान् ध्यायन् कर्माण्याचिनुतेऽसकृत् । सति कर्मण्यविद्यायां बन्धः कर्मण्यनात्मनः ॥ 29.78 ॥

yadākṣaiś caritān dhyāyan karmāṇy ācinute ’sakṛt sati karmaṇy avidyāyāṁ bandhaḥ karmaṇy anātmanaḥ

When, brooding on what the senses have done, he goes on accumulating deeds again and again, then, as long as ignorance remains present in that action, the non-self stays bound by its own actions.

Verse 79 (bhagavata.4.29.79)

अतस्तदपवादार्थं भज सर्वात्मना हरिम् । पश्यंस्तदात्मकं विश्वं स्थित्युत्पत्त्यप्यया यतः ॥ 29.79 ॥

atas tad apavādārthaṁ bhaja sarvātmanā harim paśyaṁs tad-ātmakaṁ viśvaṁ sthity-utpatty-apyayā yataḥ

Therefore, to be free of this, worship Hari with your entire being, seeing this whole universe as one with Him, since it is from Him alone that it arises, in Him rests, and into Him dissolves.

Verse 80 (bhagavata.4.29.80)

मैत्रेय उवाच भागवतमुख्यो भगवान्नारदो हंसयोर्गतिम् । प्रदर्श्य ह्यमुमामन्त्र्य सिद्धलोकं ततोऽगमत् ॥ 29.80 ॥

maitreya uvāca bhāgavata-mukhyo bhagavān nārado haṁsayor gatim pradarśya hy amum āmantrya siddha-lokaṁ tato ’gamat

Maitreya said: Having thus shown him the way of the two swans, the illustrious Narada, foremost among the devotees of Bhagavan, took leave of the King and departed for Siddhaloka.

Verse 81 (bhagavata.4.29.81)

प्राचीनबर्ही राजर्षिः प्रजासर्गाभिरक्षणे । आदिश्य पुत्रानगमत्तपसे कपिलाश्रमम् ॥ 29.81 ॥

prācīnabarhī rājarṣiḥ prajā-sargābhirakṣaṇe ādiśya putrān agamat tapase kapilāśramam

The royal sage Prachinabarhi, having instructed his sons in the protection and increase of his subjects, set out for Kapilashrama to undertake austerities.

Verse 82 (bhagavata.4.29.82)

तत्रैकाग्रमना धीरो गोविन्दचरणाम्बुजम् । विमुक्तसङ्गोऽनुभजन् भक्त्या तत्साम्यतामगात् ॥ 29.82 ॥

tatraikāgra-manā dhīro govinda-caraṇāmbujam vimukta-saṅgo ’nubhajan bhaktyā tat-sāmyatām agāt

There, steady and single-minded, freed from every attachment, worshipping the lotus feet of Govinda with devotion, he attained a state equal to His own.

Verse 83 (bhagavata.4.29.83)

एतदध्यात्मपारोक्ष्यं गीतं देवर्षिणानघ । यः श्रावयेद्यः शृणुयात्स लिङ्गेन विमुच्यते ॥ 29.83 ॥

etad adhyātma-pārokṣyaṁ gītaṁ devarṣiṇānagha yaḥ śrāvayed yaḥ śṛṇuyāt sa liṅgena vimucyate

O sinless one, whoever recites or listens to this teaching of the self, spoken indirectly here by the celestial sage, is freed from the bondage of the subtle body.

Verse 84 (bhagavata.4.29.84)

एतन्मुकुन्दयशसा भुवनं पुनानं देवर्षिवर्यमुखनिःसृतमात्मशौचम् । यः कीर्त्यमानमधिगच्छति पारमेष्ठ्यं नास्मिन् भवे भ्रमति मुक्तसमस्तबन्धः ॥ 29.84 ॥

etan mukunda-yaśasā bhuvanaṁ punānaṁ devarṣi-varya-mukha-niḥsṛtam ātma-śaucam yaḥ kīrtyamānam adhigacchati pārameṣṭhyaṁ nāsmin bhave bhramati mukta-samasta-bandhaḥ

This story, purifying the world with the fame of Mukunda, having flowed forth from the mouth of the foremost of celestial sages and cleansing the self — whoever, as it is recited, comes to grasp it attains the supreme abode, and, freed from every bond, wanders no more in this world of becoming.

Verse 85 (bhagavata.4.29.85)

अध्यात्मपारोक्ष्यमिदं मयाधिगतमद्भुतम् । एवं स्त्रियाश्रमः पुंसश्छिन्नोऽमुत्र च संशयः ॥ 29.85 ॥

adhyātma-pārokṣyam idaṁ mayādhigatam adbhutam evaṁ striyāśramaḥ puṁsaś chinno ’mutra ca saṁśayaḥ

[Maitreya concluded:] This wondrous teaching of the self, given indirectly, came to me in just this way; thus has the story of the woman and the man's householder life been told, and every doubt about the world beyond has now been dispelled.