Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 28

Nārada’s Protection of Kayādhu and Prahlāda’s Womb-Instructions: Ātma-tattva and the Path of Bhakti

Devanagari script

तस्माद्भ‍वद्भ‍ि: कर्तव्यं कर्मणां त्रिगुणात्मनाम् । बीजनिर्हरणं योग: प्रवाहोपरमो धिय: ॥ २८ ॥

Transliteration

tasmād bhavadbhiḥ kartavyaṁ karmaṇāṁ tri-guṇātmanām bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ pravāhoparamo dhiyaḥ

Translation

Therefore, my dear friends, O sons of the asuras, your duty is to take up the yoga of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which burns the seed of fruitive karma fashioned by the three guṇas and halts the mind’s flow through wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness, ignorance is dispelled at once.

Synonyms

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that
• तस्मात्: हेतु/अपादान (Cause/Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, पञ्चमी (Ablative/अपादान), एकवचन

• भवद्भिः: by you (respected ones)
• भवद्भिः: कर्ता (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (सर्वनाम/प्रातिपदिक; 2nd person honorific)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (Instrumental/करण), बहुवचन; संबोधनार्थे ‘by you (honored ones)’

• कर्तव्यम्: should be done
• कर्तव्यम्: विधेय (Obligation predicate/विधेय)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ (धातु) → कर्तव्य (कृदन्त; तव्यत्/gerundive)
• Form: कृदन्त (तव्यत्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया एकवचन (impersonal obligation); ‘ought to be done’

• कर्मणाम्: of actions
• कर्मणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन

• त्रि-गुण-आत्मनाम्: of those constituted by the three guṇas
• त्रि-गुण-आत्मनाम्: विशेषण (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या/प्रातिपदिक) + गुण (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः—त्रयः गुणाः आत्मा/स्वभावः येषाम् (whose nature is of the three guṇas)

• बीज-निर्हरणम्: removal of the seed (of karma)
• बीज-निर्हरणम्: कर्ता/विषय (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीज (प्रातिपदिक) + निर्हरण (प्रातिपदिक; from निर्-√हृ ‘to take out’)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—बीजानां निर्हरणम् (removal of the seed)

• योगः: yoga
• योगः: सम्बन्ध/समानााधिकरण (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/प्रथमा), एकवचन

• प्रवाह-उपरमः: cessation of the flow (continuity)
• प्रवाह-उपरमः: सम्बन्ध/समानााधिकरण (Predicate nominative/प्रथमा)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रवाह (प्रातिपदिक) + उपरम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (Nominative/प्रथमा), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः—प्रवाहस्य उपरमः (cessation of the flow)

• धियः: of the intellect
• धियः: सम्बन्ध (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (Genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

Purport

This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26) :

Characters & Entities

• Prahlada Maharaja

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say is the real meaning of yoga?

This verse defines real yoga as bīja-nirharaṇa—uprooting the seed of materially conditioned action, not merely external practice.

Why did Prahlada Maharaja speak about karma and the three modes to his classmates?

Prahlada instructed his demoniac schoolmates that their activities are driven by the three gunas, and that true spiritual practice means ending the root cause and flow of material consciousness.

How can I apply “stopping the flow of the mind” in modern life?

Reduce compulsive sense-driven habits and repeatedly redirect attention to the Supreme through steady devotional remembrance and disciplined living, aiming to remove the underlying motives that generate karmic reactions.