Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 3

Avadhūta’s Further Teachers: Detachment, Solitude, One-Pointed Meditation, and the Lord as Āśraya

Devanagari script

न मे मानापमानौ स्तो न चिन्ता गेहपुत्रिणाम् । आत्मक्रीड आत्मरतिर्विचरामीह बालवत् ॥ ३ ॥

Transliteration

na me mānāpamānau sto na cintā geha-putriṇām ātma-krīḍa ātma-ratir vicarāmīha bāla-vat

Translation

Für mich gibt es weder Ehre noch Schande, noch Sorge um Haus und Kinder. Ich spiele im Ātman und finde Freude im Ātman; so wandere ich über die Erde wie ein Kind.

Synonyms

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात (negation particle)

• me: to me / of me
• me: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/possessor)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी (6th/Genitive or 4th/Dative), एकवचन; enclitic ‘me’

• māna-apamānau: honor and dishonor
• māna-apamānau: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: māna + apamāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), द्विवचन; द्वन्द्व-समास

• staḥ: are
• staḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), द्विवचन; परस्मैपद

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-निपात

• cintā: anxiety
• cintā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: cintā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• geha-putriṇām: of householders (those with home and children)
• geha-putriṇām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: geha + putrin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुष (geha-putrin = ‘having house and children/offspring’)

• ātma-krīḍaḥ: self-sporting
• ātma-krīḍaḥ: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ātman + krīḍa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ātma-krīḍa = ‘one who plays in/with the self’)

• ātma-ratiḥ: self-delighting (one whose delight is in the self)
• ātma-ratiḥ: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman + rati (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (ātma-rati = ‘delight in the self’)

• vicarāmi: I wander
• vicarāmi: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verbal action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vi-car (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), उत्तमपुरुष (1st person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• iha: here
• iha: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iha (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक अव्यय (adverb of place)

• bāla-vat: like a child
• bāla-vat: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण/Manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: bāla + vat (प्रातिपदिक/तद्धित)
• Form: तुल्योपमा-अव्यय (vat-suffix; ‘like/as’)

Characters & Entities

• Yadu
• Avadhūta (Dattātreya)

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about being unaffected by honor and dishonor?

This verse teaches that a spiritually realized person remains steady amid respect and insult, because their happiness is rooted in the Self rather than social approval.

Why did the Avadhūta say this to King Yadu?

King Yadu questioned the Avadhūta’s carefree wandering; the Avadhūta explains that freedom from worldly anxiety and dependence on external validation comes from inner realization.

Practical application of detachment and inner joy in modern life?

Reduce identity based on praise/blame, simplify unnecessary obligations, and cultivate daily inner practice (japa, meditation, śravaṇa) so contentment comes from within, not from status.