Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 33
Avadhūta’s Teachers: Python, Ocean, Moth, Bee, Elephant, Deer, Fish—and Piṅgalā’s Song of Detachment
यदस्थिभिर्निर्मितवंशवंश्य- स्थूणं त्वचा रोमनखै: पिनद्धम् । क्षरन्नवद्वारमगारमेतद् विण्मूत्रपूर्णं मदुपैति कान्या ॥ ३३ ॥
yad asthibhir nirmita-vaṁśa-vaṁsya- sthūṇaṁ tvacā roma-nakhaiḥ pinaddham kṣaran-nava-dvāram agāram etad viṇ-mūtra-pūrṇaṁ mad upaiti kānyā
This material body is like a house in which I, the soul, am living. The bones forming my spine, ribs, arms and legs are like the beams, crossbeams and pillars of the house, and the whole structure, which is full of stool and urine, is covered by skin, hair and nails. The nine doors leading into this body are constantly excreting foul substances. Besides me, what woman could be so foolish as to devote herself to this material body, thinking that she might find pleasure and love in this contraption?
The nine doors leading into and out of the body are the two eyes, the two nostrils, the mouth, the two ears, the genitals and the anus. Vaṁśa, or “spine,” also means “bamboo,” and indeed the skeleton appears to resemble a bamboo construction. Just as bamboo can be immediately burned to ashes or chopped into pieces, similarly, the material body, which is constantly deteriorating, may at any moment be crushed into powder, cut into pieces, drowned, burned, suffocated, and so on. Eventually the body must disintegrate, and therefore there is certainly no one as unfortunate as one who has dedicated himself heart and soul to this flimsy body, which is filled with unpleasant elements.
FAQs
This verse teaches vairāgya by describing the body as a leaking, impure ‘house’ made of bones and covered with skin—warning that infatuation with bodily beauty is delusion.
King Yadu inquired about the Avadhūta’s freedom and wisdom; the Avadhūta instructs him in renunciation and clear perception, exposing bodily attraction as ignorance that binds the soul.
Use it to reduce obsession and craving: respect the body as a tool for dharma and bhakti, but stop romanticizing it—redirect attention to character, service, and remembrance of the Lord.