Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 21
Rahūgaṇa Meets Jaḍa Bharata: The Shaking Palanquin and the Teaching Beyond Body-Identity
दृष्ट: श्रम: कर्मत आत्मनो वै भर्तुर्गन्तुर्भवतश्चानुमन्ये । यथासतोदानयनाद्यभावात् समूल इष्टो व्यवहारमार्ग: ॥ २१ ॥
dṛṣṭaḥ śramaḥ karmata ātmano vai bhartur gantur bhavataś cānumanye yathāsatodānayanādy-abhāvāt samūla iṣṭo vyavahāra-mārgaḥ
你说：“我并不疲劳。”虽说灵我与身体不同，但因身体劳作而生疲惫，便似乎成了灵我的疲惫；抬轿之时确有劳苦——这是我的推测。你又说，主仆之间的外在行为并非究竟真实；然而在现象界中，这种行为之道连根带本地被承认并被体验，因为即使是现象所生之物也能产生作用。因此，物质活动虽无常，却不能说全然虚妄。
This is a discussion on impersonal Māyāvāda philosophy and the practical philosophy of Vaiṣṇavas. The Māyāvāda philosophy explains this phenomenal world to be false, but Vaiṣṇava philosophers do not agree. They know that the phenomenal world is a temporary manifestation but it is not false. A dream that we see at night is certainly false, but a horrible dream certainly affects the person seeing it. The soul’s fatigue is not factual, but as long as one is immersed in the illusory bodily conception, one is affected by such false dreams. When dreaming, it is not possible to avoid the actual facts, and the conditioned soul is forced to suffer due to his dream. A waterpot is made of earth and is temporary. Actually there is no waterpot; there is simply earth. However, as long as the waterpot can contain water, we can use it in that way. It cannot be said to be absolutely false.
FAQs
This verse teaches that fatigue and suffering are perceived due to karma acting through bodily identification; in ultimate truth the self is distinct, and such experiences belong to the realm of worldly convention (vyavahāra).
Rahugana accused the palanquin-bearer of causing discomfort; Jada Bharata replied that the ideas of bearer, carried, and traveler operate only on a practical level, while the self is beyond such designations.
Perform duties responsibly, but reduce ego-based identification—remembering the soul is distinct from the body helps one endure stress with steadiness and cultivate spiritual focus.