Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 20
Brahmā’s Day, the Four Pralayas, and the Supreme Shelter Beyond Cause–Effect
न यत्र वाचो न मनो न सत्त्वं तमो रजो वा महदादयोऽमी । न प्राणबुद्धीन्द्रियदेवता वा न सन्निवेश: खलु लोककल्प: ॥ २० ॥ न स्वप्नजाग्रन्न च तत् सुषुप्तं न खं जलं भूरनिलोऽग्निरर्क: । संसुप्तवच्छून्यवदप्रतर्क्यं तन्मूलभूतं पदमामनन्ति ॥ २१ ॥
na yatra vāco na mano na sattvaṁ tamo rajo vā mahad-ādayo ’mī na prāṇa-buddhīndriya-devatā vā na sanniveśaḥ khalu loka-kalpaḥ
在名为“普拉达那”(pradhāna)的物质自然未显现阶段中，没有言语的表达，没有心识，也没有从“大我”(mahat)开始的微细要素之显现；善、激、暗三德亦不现。那里没有气息(prāṇa)、没有 बुद्धि(理智)，没有诸根与诸天；诸世界也无一定的安立。梦、醒与深睡等意识状态皆不存；虚空、水、地、风、火与日亦无。其境如全然沉睡或如空寂，难以言诠；然诸圣贤说明：以其为本初之质，故为物质创造之根基。
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme reality is beyond sattva, rajas, and tamas, and even beyond the subtle and gross categories of material creation—mind, speech, senses, and cosmic elements.
To show Parīkṣit Mahārāja that the ultimate goal is transcendental—distinct from the temporary cosmic manifestation—and thus worthy of exclusive remembrance and devotion at life’s end.
It encourages detachment from purely material identities and anxieties, and motivates steady sādhana—hearing, chanting, and remembering the Lord—aimed at the transcendental goal beyond the mind’s fluctuations.