Shloka 31
Pṛthu Mahārāja Meets the Four Kumāras: Bhakti as the Boat Across Saṁsāra
भ्रश्यत्यनुस्मृतिश्चित्तं ज्ञानभ्रंश: स्मृतिक्षये । तद्रोधं कवय: प्राहुरात्मापह्नवमात्मन: ॥ ३१ ॥
bhraśyaty anusmṛtiś cittaṁ jñāna-bhraṁśaḥ smṛti-kṣaye tad-rodhaṁ kavayaḥ prāhur ātmāpahnavam ātmanaḥ
When one strays from original consciousness, the mind’s recollection collapses, and with the loss of memory comes the ruin of knowledge. The wise call this obstruction ātma-apahnava—self-concealment of the soul, the forgetting of one’s own true nature.
The living entity, or the soul, is ever existing and eternal. It cannot be lost, but learned scholars say that it is lost when actual knowledge is not working. That is the difference between animals and human beings. According to less intelligent philosophers, animals have no soul. But factually animals have souls. Due to the animals’ gross ignorance, however, it appears that they have lost their souls. Without the soul, a body cannot move. That is the difference between a living body and a dead body. When the soul is out of the body, the body is called dead. The soul is said to be lost when there is no proper knowledge exhibited. Our original consciousness is Kṛṣṇa consciousness because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa. When this consciousness is misguided and one is put into the material atmosphere, which pollutes the original consciousness, one thinks that he is a product of the material elements. Thus one loses his real remembrance of his position as part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as a man who sleeps forgets himself. In this way, when the activities of proper consciousness are checked, all the activities of the lost soul are performed on a false basis. At the present moment, human civilization is acting on a false platform of bodily identification; therefore it can be said that the people of the present age have lost their souls, and in this respect they are no better than animals.
FAQs
This verse explains a chain: when steady remembrance (anusmṛti) falls, memory (smṛti) declines, and with the loss of memory, knowledge collapses—so the wise advise restraining this decline.
In his instructions to the citizens, Pṛthu Mahārāja emphasizes inner discipline: forgetfulness of one’s spiritual identity leads to degraded understanding, so citizens should cultivate remembrance and self-control as part of dharma.
Protect your remembrance by daily spiritual practice—regular hearing/reading of Bhagavatam, mantra-japa, and mindful habits—so the mind stays aligned with higher values and doesn’t slide into forgetfulness and confusion.