Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 5
Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct Citraketu: Impermanence, Ātma-Tattva, and Mantra-Upadeśa
वयं च त्वं च ये चेमे तुल्यकालाश्चराचरा: । जन्ममृत्योर्यथा पश्चात् प्राङ्नैवमधुनापि भो: ॥ ५ ॥
vayaṁ ca tvaṁ ca ye ceme tulya-kālāś carācarāḥ janma-mṛtyor yathā paścāt prāṅ naivam adhunāpi bhoḥ
王よ、あなたと我ら—助言者、妃たち、臣下—そして今この宇宙にある動くもの動かぬものすべては、同じ時のうちに仮の境遇にある。生まれる前にはこの状態はなく、死後にも残らない。ゆえに今は無常であるが、虚偽ではない。
The Māyāvādī philosophers say, brahma satyaṁ jagan mithyā: Brahman, the living being, is factual, but his present bodily situation is false. According to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, however, the present situation is not false but temporary. It is like a dream. A dream does not exist before one falls asleep, nor does it continue after one awakens. The period for dreaming exists only between these two, and therefore it is false in the sense that it is impermanent. Similarly, the entire material creation, including our own creation and those of others, is impermanent. We do not lament for the situation in a dream before the dream takes place or after it is over, and so during the dream, or during a dreamlike situation, one should not accept it as factual and lament about it. This is real knowledge.
FAQs
This verse teaches that distinctions created by birth and death do not touch the eternal self; before birth and after death the separations vanish, and even now they are ultimately not absolute.
Narada spoke to relieve Citraketu’s grief and restore his spiritual vision, reminding him that all beings are bound by time and that bodily identities are temporary, while the soul’s reality is beyond such changes.
Remember the temporary nature of bodily relationships, reflect on the soul’s continuity, and redirect the heart toward devotion and service—transforming grief into steady spiritual practice.