Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 49
Bhagavān’s Avatāras, Their Protections (Poṣaṇa), and the Limits of Knowing Him
स श्रेयसामपि विभुर्भगवान् यतोऽस्य भावस्वभावविहितस्य सत: प्रसिद्धि: । देहे स्वधातुविगमेऽनुविशीर्यमाणे व्योमेव तत्र पुरुषो न विशीर्यतेऽज: ॥ ४९ ॥
sa śreyasām api vibhur bhagavān yato ’sya bhāva-svabhāva-vihitasya sataḥ prasiddhiḥ dehe sva-dhātu-vigame ’nuviśīryamāṇe vyomeva tatra puruṣo na viśīryate ’jaḥ
Le Seigneur Suprême, Bhagavān, est le maître de tout ce qui est auspice, car les fruits des actes de l’être vivant—dans l’ordre matériel comme dans l’ordre spirituel—sont accordés par Lui. Ainsi, Il est le bienfaiteur ultime. Quand les éléments du corps se dissolvent, l’âme non née demeure, telle l’air dans l’espace.
The living entity is unborn and eternal, and as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (2.30) , the living entity is not exhausted even though the material elementary body is vanquished. As long as the living entity is in material existence, actions performed by him are rewarded in the next life, or even in the present life. Similarly, in his spiritual life also actions are rewarded by the Lord by the five kinds of liberation. Even the impersonalist cannot achieve the desired merging into the existence of the Supreme without being favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11) that the Lord awards similar results, as one desires, in one’s present life. The living entities are given freedom to make their choice, and the Lord awards them accordingly.
FAQs
This verse states that as the body breaks apart into its material elements, the unborn person (ajaḥ)—the self within—does not disintegrate, like the sky remains untouched.
To emphasize the soul’s eternal nature: it is not produced by material elements and therefore is not destroyed when those elements separate at death.
Remembering that the self is distinct from the changing body reduces fear of loss and death and supports steady devotion to Bhagavān, the source of all auspiciousness.