Shloka 51

Prāyaścitta, the ‘Elephant Bath’ Problem, and the Opening of Ajāmila-Upākhyāna

Devanagari script

तदेतत्षोडशकलं लिङ्गं शक्तित्रयं महत् । धत्तेऽनुसंसृतिं पुंसि हर्षशोकभयार्तिदाम् ॥ ५१ ॥

Transliteration

tad etat ṣoḍaśa-kalaṁ liṅgaṁ śakti-trayaṁ mahat dhatte ’nusaṁsṛtiṁ puṁsi harṣa-śoka-bhayārtidām

Translation

Ce corps subtil aux seize parties, grand liṅga issu des trois guṇa, par la force des désirs entraîne l’âme dans la saṁsṛti, lui donnant joie, chagrin, peur et détresse.

Synonyms

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun

• etat: this (same)
• etat: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: etad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); demonstrative pronoun (appositive)

• ṣoḍaśa-kalam: having sixteen parts
• ṣoḍaśa-kalam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣoḍaśa (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + kalā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); dvigu compound qualifying liṅgam

• liṅgam: the subtle body/mark (liṅga)
• liṅgam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: liṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन)

• śakti-trayam: the three powers
• śakti-trayam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakti (प्रातिपदिक) + traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); ‘threefold power’

• mahat: great
• mahat: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mahat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular (एकवचन); adjective to liṅgam/śakti-trayam

• dhatte: bears/maintains
• dhatte: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dhā (धा धातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• anusaṁsṛtim: continued transmigration
• anusaṁsṛtim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: anusaṁsṛti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)

• puṁsi: in the person (jīva)
• puṁsi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pumān (पुम्/पुंस् प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Locative (7th/सप्तमी), Singular (एकवचन)

• harṣa-śoka-bhaya-ārtidām: giving joy, sorrow, fear, and distress
• harṣa-śoka-bhaya-ārtidām: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: harṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + śoka (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + ārti (प्रातिपदिक) + dā (दा धातु; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक ‘द’/‘दातृ’ sense)
• Form: Feminine (स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); bahu-member compound qualifying anusaṁsṛtim; ‘giver of…’ (दाम् = दा-प्रत्ययान्त)

Purport

The sum and substance of material conditional life is explained in this verse. The living entity, the seventeenth element, is struggling alone, life after life. This struggle is called saṁsṛti, or material conditional life. In Bhagavad-gītā it is said that the force of material nature is insurmountably strong ( daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā ). Material nature harasses the living entity in different bodies, but if the living entity surrenders to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he becomes free from this entanglement, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ( mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te ). Thus his life becomes successful.

Characters & Entities

• Ajāmila

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the subtle body (liṅga-śarīra)?

This verse says the subtle body, made of sixteen parts and tied to material energies, carries the jīva through repeated transmigration and produces experiences like joy, grief, fear, and suffering.

Why does Śukadeva Gosvāmī describe the subtle body while narrating Ajāmila’s story?

To explain the mechanism of bondage—how conditioning and karma propel the soul through saṁsāra—so that Ajāmila’s deliverance can be understood as liberation from this ongoing entanglement.

Practical application of this teaching in modern life?

Recognize that shifting emotions (happiness, anxiety, fear) arise from material conditioning; cultivate bhakti and remembrance of the Lord to loosen identification with the subtle body and reduce karmic entanglement.