Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 11
Ātmā’s Unborn Nature and Fearlessness at Death
Parīkṣit’s Final Instruction
अहं ब्रह्म परं धाम ब्रह्माहं परमं पदम् । एवं समीक्ष्य चात्मानमात्मन्याधाय निष्कले ॥ ११ ॥ दशन्तं तक्षकं पादे लेलिहानं विषाननै: । न द्रक्ष्यसि शरीरं च विश्वं च पृथगात्मन: ॥ १२ ॥
ahaṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma brahmāhaṁ paramaṁ padam evaṁ samīkṣya cātmānam ātmany ādhāya niṣkale
こう観想せよ。「我はブラフマン、至上の住処である。しかもそのブラフマン、至上の到達処は我と不二である」と。かくして一切の誤認を離れた無垢のパラマートマンに自己を委ねれば、毒牙を舐めつつ足を噛むタクシャカさえ意に留まらず、死にゆく身体も、自己と別なるこの世界も見えなくなる。
FAQs
This verse teaches contemplative absorption: by understanding the self’s spiritual identity and fixing the mind in the indivisible Absolute (Brahman), one becomes steady in transcendental realization.
As Parikshit approached death, Śukadeva gave the essence of liberation—how to withdraw the mind from bodily fear and rest it in the Absolute, the sure refuge at life’s end.
Practice daily inner recollection: reduce identification with the body and anxieties, and regularly fix the mind on the spiritual self through sacred study, prayerful remembrance, and meditation on the Absolute.