Shloka 26
Nārada Instructs Prācīnabarhiṣat: The Purañjana Narrative Begins
City of Nine Gates
का त्वं कञ्जपलाशाक्षि कस्यासीह कुत: सति । इमामुप पुरीं भीरु किं चिकीर्षसि शंस मे ॥ २६ ॥
kā tvaṁ kañja-palāśākṣi kasyāsīha kutaḥ sati imām upa purīṁ bhīru kiṁ cikīrṣasi śaṁsa me
O lotus-eyed one, tell me—who are you, from where have you come, and whose daughter are you? You appear most chaste. O timid lady, for what purpose have you approached this city, and what do you seek to do? Please explain everything to me.
The first aphorism in the Vedānta-sūtra is athāto brahma-jijñāsā. In the human form of life one should put many questions to himself and to his intelligence. In the various forms of life lower than human life, the intelligence does not go beyond the range of life’s primary necessities, namely eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Dogs, cats and tigers are always busy trying to find something to eat or a place to sleep, or trying to defend and have sexual intercourse successfully. In the human form of life, however, one should be intelligent enough to ask what he is, why he has come into the world, what his duty is, who is the supreme controller, what is the difference between dull matter and the living entity, etc. There are so many questions, and the person who is actually intelligent should simply inquire about the supreme source of everything: athāto brahma-jijñāsā. A living entity is always connected with a certain amount of intelligence, but in the human form of life the living entity must inquire about his spiritual identity. This is real human intelligence. It is said that one who is simply conscious of the body is no better than an animal, even though he be in the human form. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Śrī Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: “I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.” In the animal form the living entity is completely forgetful of his relationship with God. This is called apohanam, or forgetfulness. In the human form of life, however, consciousness is more greatly developed, and consequently the human being has a chance to understand his relationship with God. In the human form one should utilize his intelligence by asking all these questions, just as Purañjana, the living entity, is asking the unknown girl where she has come from, what her business is, why she is present, etc. These are inquiries about ātma-tattva, self-realization. The conclusion is that unless a living entity is inquisitive about self-realization he is nothing but an animal.
FAQs
This verse shows Purañjana’s questioning of the lotus-eyed maiden, beginning the allegory where the soul becomes attracted to material life; the narrative uses symbolic characters to teach self-knowledge and detachment.
He is captivated and seeks her identity and purpose; in the allegory, it reflects the conditioned soul’s curiosity and attraction toward the forces that draw one into embodied, city-like material existence.
It encourages mindful inquiry—before entering any “city” of commitments or desires, ask what it is, where it leads, and what purpose it serves, aligning choices with spiritual goals rather than impulse.