Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 7
Ātmā’s Unborn Nature and Fearlessness at Death
Parīkṣit’s Final Instruction
स्नेहाधिष्ठानवर्त्यग्निसंयोगो यावदीयते । तावद्दीपस्य दीपत्वमेवं देहकृतो भव: । रज:सत्त्वतमोवृत्त्या जायतेऽथ विनश्यति ॥ ७ ॥
snehādhiṣṭhāna-varty-agni- saṁyogo yāvad īyate tāvad dīpasya dīpatvam evaṁ deha-kṛto bhavaḥ rajaḥ-sattva-tamo-vṛttyā jāyate ’tha vinaśyati
A lamp functions as such only by the combination of its fuel, vessel, wick and fire. Similarly, material life, based on the soul’s identification with the body, is developed and destroyed by the workings of material goodness, passion and ignorance, which are the constituent elements of the body.
FAQs
This verse explains that material existence arises and is destroyed due to the ongoing functions of rajas, sattva, and tamas—when their activity continues, samsara continues; when it ceases, the body-based condition ends.
He uses it to show that the body and its experience of worldly life are not permanent realities—like a lamp that ‘exists’ only while its components remain combined, the sense of embodied existence persists only under certain conditions.
Recognize the temporary, conditioned nature of bodily identity and cultivate steady devotional and spiritual practice that lifts consciousness beyond the modes—reducing impulsive passion and dull ignorance while not becoming attached even to goodness.