Shloka 43
The Lord’s Supervision of Embodiment: Fetal Development, Womb-Suffering, and the Jīva’s Prayer (Garbha-stuti) — and the Trap of Māyā
देहेन जीवभूतेन लोकाल्लोकमनुव्रजन् । भुञ्जान एव कर्माणि करोत्यविरतं पुमान् ॥ ४३ ॥
dehena jīva-bhūtena lokāl lokam anuvrajan bhuñjāna eva karmāṇi karoty avirataṁ pumān
Because of his particular body, the materialistic living being wanders from world to world, following fruitive karma; thus, while tasting its results, he engages in action without cessation.
When the living entity is encaged in the material body, he is called jīva-bhūta, and when he is free from the material body he is called brahma-bhūta. By changing his material body birth after birth, he travels not only in the different species of life, but also from one planet to another. Lord Caitanya says that the living entities, bound up by fruitive activities, are wandering in this way throughout the whole universe, and if by some chance or by pious activities they get in touch with a bona fide spiritual master, by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, then they get the seed of devotional service. After getting this seed, if one sows it within his heart and pours water on it by hearing and chanting, the seed grows into a big plant, and there are fruits and flowers which the living entity can enjoy, even in this material world. That is called the brahma-bhūta stage. In his designated condition, a living entity is called materialistic, and upon being freed from all designations, when he is fully Kṛṣṇa conscious, engaged in devotional service, he is called liberated. Unless one gets the opportunity to associate with a bona fide spiritual master by the grace of the Lord, there is no possibility of one’s liberation from the cycle of birth and death in the different species of life and through the different grades of planets.
FAQs
This verse explains that the embodied soul keeps moving from one realm to another because, even while undergoing the results of past deeds, he continues to perform new karma without stopping—thus sustaining the cycle of rebirth.
Kapila instructs Devahuti in Sāṅkhya and bhakti by diagnosing the root of bondage: ceaseless karma and identification with the body, which carry the jīva through repeated destinations (lokas).
Notice the habit of constant “doing” driven by ego and desire; shift actions toward devotion and selfless duty, and regularly reflect that you are not the body—this weakens the impulse to create fresh binding karma.