Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 24

Mahārāja Sagara, Kapila Muni, and the Deliverance of the Sixty Thousand Sons

Devanagari script

प्रशान्त मायागुणकर्मलिङ्ग- मनामरूपं सदसद्विमुक्तम् । ज्ञानोपदेशाय गृहीतदेहं नमामहे त्वां पुरुषं पुराणम् ॥ २४ ॥

Transliteration

praśānta māyā-guṇa-karma-liṅgam anāma-rūpaṁ sad-asad-vimuktam jñānopadeśāya gṛhīta-dehaṁ namāmahe tvāṁ puruṣaṁ purāṇam

Translation

O completely peaceful Lord, although material nature, fruitive activities and their consequent material names and forms are Your creation, You are unaffected by them. Therefore, Your transcendental name is different from material names, and Your form is different from material forms. You assume a form resembling a material body just to give us instructions like those of Bhagavad-gītā, but actually You are the supreme original person. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

Synonyms

• praśāntam: fully pacified/quieted
• praśāntam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: praśānta (कृदन्त; √śam उपशमे)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); past passive participle used adjectivally

• māyā-guṇa-karma-liṅgam: marked by māyā, qualities, actions, and signs
• māyā-guṇa-karma-liṅgam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: māyā (प्रातिपदिक) + guṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + karma (प्रातिपदिक) + liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; समास: तत्पुरुष (निर्देश/सम्बन्ध) — 'having/marked by māyā, guṇas, karma, and liṅga'

• anāma-rūpam: without name and form
• anāma-rūpam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anāma (प्रातिपदिक; a- + nāma) + rūpa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; कर्मधारय: 'name-less and form-less' as a single qualifier

• sat-asat-vimuktam: freed from being and non-being
• sat-asat-vimuktam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sat (प्रातिपदिक) + asat (प्रातिपदिक) + vimukta (कृदन्त; √muc मोचने with vi-)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; PPP 'vimukta' qualified by sat/asat; तत्पुरुष: 'freed from sat and asat'

• jñāna-upadeśāya: for imparting knowledge
• jñāna-upadeśāya: Sampradāna (सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jñāna (प्रातिपदिक) + upadeśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative (4th/चतुर्थी), Singular; purpose dative — 'for instruction of knowledge'

• gṛhīta-deham: having assumed a body
• gṛhīta-deham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gṛhīta (कृदन्त; √grah ग्रहणे) + deha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; PPP 'gṛhīta' + object 'deha' in compound: 'one who has assumed a body'

• namāmahe: we bow (to)
• namāmahe: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nam (धातु; नम् प्रणामे)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (लट्/Present), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद)

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun (सर्वनाम), Accusative (2nd), Singular

• puruṣam: the Person (Supreme Being)
• puruṣam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: puruṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular

• purāṇam: ancient/primeval
• purāṇam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: purāṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd), Singular; adjective qualifying 'puruṣam'

Purport

Śrīla Yāmunācārya has recited this verse in his Stotra-ratna (43):

Characters & Entities

• King Sagara
• Supreme Lord (Puruṣa Purāṇa)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the Supreme Lord being beyond maya and karma?

This verse praises the Lord as free from the identifying marks of māyā, the guṇas, and karma—showing that He is never conditioned like the jīva, even when He appears within the world.

Why did King Sagara offer this prayer in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 9?

Within the narrative of Sagara’s dynasty and sacred events surrounding the Ganges, Sagara offers reverent praise to the Primeval Person, acknowledging the Lord’s transcendence and His merciful act of teaching through divine appearance.

Practical application: how can I live ‘beyond the gunas’ in modern life?

By cultivating devotion and steady knowledge—reducing ego-based “designations,” acting without selfish attachment, and hearing sacred teachings—one gradually becomes calm-minded and less driven by the modes.