Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter Seven

What Prahlada Learned in the Womb

SB7.7Summary

In this chapter, to dissipate the doubts of his class friends, the sons of the demons, Prahlada Maharaja states how, within the womb of his mother, he had heard from the mouth of Narada Muni, who had instructed him in bhagavata-dharma.

When Hiranyakasipu left his kingdom and went to the mountain known as Mandaracala to execute severe austerities, all the demons scattered. Hiranyakasipu’s wife, Kayadhu, was pregnant at that time, and the demigods, mistakenly thinking that she carried another demon in her womb, arrested her. Their plan was that as soon as the child took birth they would kill him. While they were taking Kayadhu to the heavenly planets, they met Narada Muni, who stopped them from taking her away and took her to his asrama until Hiranyakasipu’s return. In Narada Muni’s asrama, Kayadhu prayed for the protection of the baby in her womb, and Narada Muni reassured her and gave her instructions on spiritual knowledge. Taking advantage of those instructions, Prahlada Maharaja, although a small baby within the womb, listened very carefully. The spirit soul is always apart from the material body. There is no change in the spiritual form of the living entity. Any person above the bodily conception of life is pure and can receive transcendental knowledge. This transcendental knowledge is devotional service, and Prahlada Maharaja, while living in the womb of his mother, received instructions in devotional service from Narada Muni. Any person engaged in the service of the Lord through the instructions of a bona fide spiritual master is immediately liberated, and being free from the clutches of maya, he is relieved of all ignorance and material desires. The duty of everyone is to take shelter of the Supreme Lord and thus become free from all material desires. Regardless of the material condition in which one is situated, one can achieve this perfection. Devotional service is not dependent on the material activities of austerity, penance, mystic yoga or piety. Even without such assets, one can achieve devotional service through the mercy of a pure devotee.

SB7.7.1

TEXT 1

sri-narada uvaca

evam daitya-sutaih prsto

maha-bhagavato ’surah

uvaca tan smayamanah

smaran mad-anubhasitam

SYNONYMS

sri-naradah uvaca—the great saint Narada Muni said; evam—thus; daitya-sutaih—by the sons of the demons; prstah—being questioned; maha-bhagavatah—the exalted devotee of the Lord; asurah—born in a family of demons; uvaca—spoke; tan—unto them (the sons of the demons); smayamanah—smiling; smaran—remembering; mat-anubhasitam—what was spoken by me.

TRANSLATION

Narada Muni said: Although Prahlada Maharaja was born in a family of asuras, he was the greatest of all devotees. Having thus been questioned by his class friends, the sons of the asuras, he remembered the words spoken to him by me and replied to his friends as follows.

PURPORT

When he was in the womb of his mother, Prahlada Maharaja listened to the words of Narada Muni. One cannot imagine how the baby in embryo could hear Narada, but this is spiritual life; progress in spiritual life cannot be obstructed by any material condition. This is called ahaituky apratihata. Reception of spiritual knowledge is never checked by any material condition. Thus Prahlada Maharaja, from his very childhood, spoke spiritual knowledge to his class friends, and certainly it was effective, although all of them were children.

SB7.7.2

TEXT 2

sri-prahrada uvaca

pitari prasthite ’smakam

tapase mandaracalam

yuddhodyamam param cakrur

vibudha danavan prati

SYNONYMS

sri-prahradah uvaca—Prahlada Maharaja said; pitari—when the demon father, Hiranyakasipu; prasthite—left for; asmakam—our; tapase—to execute austerities; mandara-acalam—the hill known as Mandaracala; yuddha-udyamam—exertion of warfare; param—very great; cakruh—executed; vibudhah—the demigods, headed by King Indra; danavan—the demons; prati—toward.

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja said: When our father, Hiranyakasipu, went to Mandaracala Mountain to execute severe austerities, in his absence the demigods, headed by King Indra, made a severe attempt to subdue all the demons in warfare.

SB7.7.3

TEXT 3

pipilikair ahir iva

distya lokopatapanah

papena papo ’bhaksiti

vadanto vasavadayah

SYNONYMS

pipilikaih—by small ants; ahih—a serpent; iva—like; distya—thank heaven; loka-upatapanah—always oppressing everyone; papena—by his own sinful activities; papah—the sinful Hiranyakasipu; abhaksi—has now been eaten; iti—thus; vadantah—saying; vasava-adayah—the demigods, headed by King Indra.

TRANSLATION

“Alas, as a serpent is eaten by small ants, so the troublesome Hiranyakasipu, who always inflicted miseries upon all types of people, has now been defeated by the reactions of his own sinful activities.” Saying this, the demigods, headed by King Indra, arranged to fight the demons.

SB7.7.4-5

TEXTS 4–5

tesam atibalodyogam

nisamyasura-yuthapah

vadhyamanah surair bhita

dudruvuh sarvato disam

kalatra-putra-vittaptan

grhan pasu-paricchadan

naveksyamanas tvaritah

sarve prana-paripsavah

SYNONYMS

tesam—of the demigods, headed by King Indra; atibala-udyogam—the great exertion and strength; nisamya—hearing of; asura-yuthapah—the great leaders of the demons; vadhyamanah—being killed one after another; suraih—by the demigods; bhitah—afraid; dudruvuh—ran away; sarvatah—in all; disam—directions; kalatra—wives; putra-vitta—children and wealth; aptan—relatives; grhan—homes; pasu-paricchadan—animals and paraphernalia of household life; na—not; aveksyamanah—seeing to; tvaritah—very hasty; sarve—all of them; prana-paripsavah—very much desiring to live.

TRANSLATION

When the great leaders of the demons, who were being killed one after another, saw the unprecedented exertion of the demigods in fighting, they began to flee, scattering themselves in all directions. Simply to protect their lives, they hastily fled from their homes, wives, children, animals and household paraphernalia. Paying no heed to all these, the demons simply fled.

SB7.7.6

TEXT 6

vyalumpan raja-sibiram

amara jaya-kanksinah

indras tu raja-mahisim

mataram mama cagrahit

SYNONYMS

vyalumpan—plundered; raja-sibiram—the palace of my father. Hiranyakasipu; amarah—the demigods; jaya-kanksinah—eager to be victorious; indrah—the head of the demigods, King Indra; tu—but; raja-mahisim—the Queen; mataram—mother; mama—my; ca—also; agrahit—captured.

TRANSLATION

The victorious demigods plundered the palace of Hiranyakasipu, the King of the demons, and destroyed everything within it. Then Indra, King of heaven, arrested my mother, the Queen.

SB7.7.7

TEXT 7

niyamanam bhayodvignam

rudatim kurarim iva

yadrcchayagatas tatra

devarsir dadrse pathi

SYNONYMS

niyamanam—being taken away; bhaya-udvignam—disturbed and full of fear; rudatim—crying; kurarim iva—like a kurari (osprey); yadrcchaya—by chance; agatah—arrived; tatra—on the spot; deva-rsih—the great saint Narada; dadrse—he saw; pathi—on the road.

TRANSLATION

As she was being led away, crying in fear like a kurari captured by a vulture, the great sage Narada, who at that time had no engagement, appeared on the scene and saw her in that condition.

SB7.7.8

TEXT 8

praha nainam sura-pate

netum arhasy anagasam

munca munca maha-bhaga

satim para-parigraham

SYNONYMS

praha—he said; na—not; enam—this; sura-pate—O King of the demigods; netum—to drag away; arhasi—you deserve; anagasam—not at all sinful; munca munca—release, release; maha-bhaga—O greatly fortunate one; satim—chaste; para-parigraham—the wife of another person.

TRANSLATION

Narada Muni said: O Indra, King of the demigods, this woman is certainly sinless. You should not drag her off in this merciless way. O greatly fortunate one, this chaste woman is the wife of another. You must immediately release her.

SB7.7.9

TEXT 9

sri-indra uvaca

aste ’sya jathare viryam

avisahyam sura-dvisah

asyatam yavat prasavam

moksye ’rtha-padavim gatah

SYNONYMS

sri-indrah uvaca—King Indra said; aste—there is; asyah—of her; jathare—within the abdomen; viryam—the seed; avisahyam—intolerable; sura-dvisah—of the enemy of the demigods; asyatam—let her remain (in our prison); yavat—until; prasavam—the delivery of the child; moksye—I shall release; artha-padavim—the path of my object; gatah—obtained.

TRANSLATION

King Indra said: In the womb of this woman, the wife of the demon Hiranyakasipu, is the seed of that great demon. Therefore, let her remain in our custody until her child is delivered, and then we shall release her.

PURPORT

Indra, the King of heaven, decided to arrest Prahlada Maharaja’s mother because he thought that another demon, another Hiranyakasipu, was within her womb. The best course, he thought, was to kill the child when the child was born, and then the woman could be released.

SB7.7.10

TEXT 10

sri-narada uvaca

ayam niskilbisah saksan

maha-bhagavato mahan

tvaya na prapsyate samstham

anantanucaro bali

SYNONYMS

sri-naradah uvaca—the great saint Narada Muni said; ayam—this (child within the womb); niskilbisah—completely sinless; saksat—directly; maha-bhagavatah—a saintly devotee; mahan—very great; tvaya—by you; na—not; prapsyate—will obtain; samstham—his death; ananta—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; anucarah—a servant; bali—extremely powerful.

TRANSLATION

Narada Muni replied: The child within this woman’s womb is faultless and sinless. Indeed, he is a great devotee, a powerful servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you will not be able to kill him.

PURPORT

There have been many instances in which demons or nondevotees have attempted to kill a devotee, but they have never been able to destroy a great devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord promises in Bhagavad-gita (9.31), kaunteya pratijanihi na me bhaktah pranasyati. This is a declaration by the Supreme Personality of Godhead that His devotee cannot be killed by demons. Prahlada Maharaja is the vivid example of the truth of this promise. Narada Muni told the King of heaven, “it would be impossible for you to kill the child, even though you are demigods, and certainly it would be impossible for others.”

SB7.7.11

TEXT 11

ity uktas tam vihayendro

devarser manayan vacah

ananta-priya-bhaktyainam

parikramya divam yayau

SYNONYMS

iti—thus; uktah—addressed; tam—her; vihaya—releasing; indrah—the King of heaven; deva-rseh—of the saint Narada Muni; manayan—honoring; vacah—the words; ananta-priya—for one who is very dear to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; bhaktya—by devotion; enam—this (woman); parikramya—circumambulating; divam—to the heavenly planets; yayau—returned.

TRANSLATION

When the great saint Narada Muni had thus spoken, King Indra, being respectful to Narada’s words, immediately released my mother. Because of my being a devotee of the Lord, all the demigods circumambulated her. Then they returned to their celestial kingdom.

PURPORT

Although King Indra and the other demigods are exalted personalities, they were so obedient to Narada Muni that King Indra immediately accepted Narada Muni’s words concerning Prahlada Maharaja. This is called understanding by the parampara system. Indra and the demigods did not know that a great devotee was in the womb of Kayadhu, the wife of Hiranyakasipu, but they accepted the authoritative statements of Narada Muni and immediately offered their respects to the devotee by circumambulating the woman in whose womb he was living. To understand God and the devotee by the parampara system is the process of knowledge. There is no need to speculate about God and His devotee. One should accept the statements of a bona fide devotee and thus try to understand.

SB7.7.12

TEXT 12

tato me mataram rsih

samaniya nijasrame

asvasyehosyatam vatse

yavat te bhartur agamah

SYNONYMS

tatah—thereafter; me—my; mataram—mother; rsih—the great saint Narada Rsi; samaniya—bringing; nija-asrame—to his own asrama; asvasya—giving her assurance; iha—here; usyatam—stay; vatse—my dear child; yavat—until; te—your; bhartuh—of the husband; agamah—the coming.

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja continued: The great saint Narada Muni brought my mother to his asrama and assured her of all protection, saying, “My dear child, please remain at my asrama until the arrival of your husband.”

SB7.7.13

TEXT 13

tathety avatsid devarser

antike sakuto-bhaya

yavad daitya-patir ghorat

tapaso na nyavartata

SYNONYMS

tatha—so be it; iti—thus; avatsit—lived; deva-rseh—Devarsi Narada; antike—near; sa—she (my mother); akuto-bhaya—without fear from any direction; yavat—as long as; daitya-patih—my father, Hiranyakasipu, the lord of the demons; ghorat—from very severe; tapasah—austerities; na—not; nyavartata—ceased.

TRANSLATION

After accepting the instructions of Devarsi Narada, my mother stayed in his care, without fear from any direction, as long as my father, the King of the Daityas, had not become free from his severe austerities.

SB7.7.14

TEXT 14

rsim paryacarat tatra

bhaktya paramaya sati

antarvatni sva-garbhasya

ksemayeccha-prasutaye

SYNONYMS

rsim—unto Narada Muni; paryacarat—rendered service; tatra—there (in the asrama of Narada Muni); bhaktya—with devotion and faith; paramaya—great; sati—the faithful woman; antarvatni—pregnant; sva-garbhasya—of her embryo; ksemaya—for the welfare; iccha—according to desire; prasutaye—for deliverance of the child.

TRANSLATION

My mother, being pregnant, desired the safety of her embryo and desired to give birth after her husband’s arrival. Thus she stayed at Narada Muni’s asrama, where she rendered service unto Narada Muni with great devotion.

PURPORT

It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.19.17)

matra svasra duhitra va
naviviktasano bhavet
balavan indriya-gramo
vidvamsam api karsati

One should not remain in a secluded place with a woman, even one’s mother, sister, or daughter. Nonetheless, although one is strictly prohibited from staying with a woman in a secluded place, Narada Muni gave shelter to Prahlada Maharaja’s young mother, who rendered service to him with great devotion and faith. Does this mean that Narada Muni transgressed the Vedic injunctions? Certainly he did not. Such injunctions are intended for mundane creatures, but Narada Muni is transcendental to mundane categories. Narada Muni is a great saint and is transcendentally situated. Therefore, although he was a young man, he could give shelter to a young woman and accept her service. Haridasa Thakura also spoke with a young woman, a prostitute, in the dead of night, but the woman could not deviate his mind. Instead, she became a Vaisnavi, a pure devotee, by the benediction of Haridasa Thakura. Ordinary persons, however, should not imitate such highly elevated devotees. Ordinary persons must strictly observe the rules and regulations by staying aloof from the association of women. No one should imitate Narada Muni or Haridasa Thakura. It is said, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijne na bujhaya. Even if a man is very advanced in learning, he cannot understand the behavior of a Vaisnava. Anyone can take shelter of a pure Vaisnava, without fear. Therefore in the previous verse it has been distinctly said, devarser antike sakuto-bhaya: Kayadhu, the mother of Prahlada Maharaja, stayed under the protection of Narada Muni without fear from any direction. Similarly, Narada Muni, in his transcendental position, stayed with the young woman without fear of deviation. Narada Muni, Haridasa Thakura and similar acaryas especially empowered to broadcast the glories of the Lord cannot be brought down to the material platform. Therefore one is strictly forbidden to think that the acarya is an ordinary human being (gurusu nara-matih).

SB7.7.15

TEXT 15

rsih karunikas tasyah

pradad ubhayam isvarah

dharmasya tattvam jnanam ca

mam apy uddisya nirmalam

SYNONYMS

rsih—the great sage Narada Muni; karunikah—naturally very affectionate or merciful to the fallen souls; tasyah—to her; pradat—gave instructions; ubhayam—both; isvarah—a powerful controller who can do whatever he likes (Narada Muni); dharmasya—of religion; tattvam—the truth; jnanam—knowledge; ca—and; mam—me; api—especially; uddisya—indicating; nirmalam—without material contamination.

TRANSLATION

Narada Muni delivered his instructions both to me, who was within the womb, and to my mother, who was engaged in rendering him service. Because he is naturally extremely kind to the fallen souls, being in a transcendental position, he gave instructions on religion and transcendental knowledge. These instructions were free from all material contamination.

PURPORT

Here it is said, dharmasya tattvam jnanam ca. .. nirmalam. The word nirmalam refers to spotless dharma, spotless religion—or, in other words, bhagavata-dharma. Ordinary ritualistic activities constitute contaminated religion, by which one benefits by developing material wealth and prosperity, but uncontaminated, pure religion consists of understanding one’s relationship with God and acting accordingly, thus fulfilling the highest mission of life and returning home, back to Godhead. Prahlada Maharaja advised that one elevate oneself to the standard of bhagavata-dharma from the very beginning of life (kaumara acaret prajno dharman bhagavatan iha [SB 7.6.1]). The Lord Himself also speaks of pure, uncontaminated religion when He says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” (Bg. 18.66) One must understand one’s relationship with God and then act accordingly. This is bhagavata-dharma. Bhagavata-dharma means bhakti-yoga.

vasudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogah prayojitah
janayaty asu vairagyam
jnanam ca yad ahaitukam

“By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.” (Bhag. 1.2.7) To be situated on the platform of pure religion, one should perform bhakti-yoga in relationship with Krsna, Vasudeva.

SB7.7.16

TEXT 16

tat tu kalasya dirghatvat

stritvan matus tirodadhe

rsinanugrhitam mam

nadhunapy ajahat smrtih

SYNONYMS

tat—that (instruction on religion and knowledge); tu—indeed; kalasya—of time; dirghatvat—because of the longness; stritvat—because of being a woman; matuh—of my mother; tirodadhe—disappeared; rsina—by the sage; anugrhitam—being blessed; mam—me; na—not; adhuna—today; api—even; ajahat—left; smrtih—the memory (of Narada Muni’s instructions).

TRANSLATION

Because of the long duration of time that has passed and because of her being a woman and therefore less intelligent, my mother has forgotten all those instructions; but the great sage Narada blessed me, and therefore I could not forget them.

PURPORT

In Bhagavad-gita (9.32) the Lord says:

mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te ’pi yanti param gatim

“O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me—though they be lowborn, women, vaisyas [merchants] or sudras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.” The word papa-yoni refers to those who are less than sudras, but even though a woman may not be papa-yoni, because of being less intelligent she sometimes forgets devotional instructions. For those who are strong enough, however, there is no question of forgetting. Women are generally attached to material enjoyment, and because of this tendency they sometimes forget devotional instructions. But if even a woman practices devotional service strictly, according to the rules and regulations, the statement by the Lord Himself that she can return to Godhead (te ’pi yanti param gatim) is not at all astonishing. One must take shelter of the Lord and rigidly follow the rules and regulations. Then, regardless of what one is, one will return home, back to Godhead. Prahlada Maharaja’s mother was more concerned with protecting the child in the womb and was very anxious to see her husband return. Therefore she could not consider very seriously the sublime instructions of Narada Muni.

SB7.7.17

TEXT 17

bhavatam api bhuyan me

yadi sraddadhate vacah

vaisaradi dhih sraddhatah

stri-balanam ca me yatha

SYNONYMS

bhavatam—of yourselves; api—also; bhuyat—it may be; me—of me; yadi—if; sraddadhate—you believe in; vacah—the words; vaisaradi—of the most expert, or in relation with the Supreme Lord; dhih—intelligence; sraddhatah—because of firm faith; stri—of women; balanam—of small boys; ca—also; me—of me; yatha—just as.

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja continued: My dear friends, if you can place your faith in my words, simply by that faith you can also understand transcendental knowledge, just like me, although you are small children. Similarly, a woman can also understand transcendental knowledge and know what is spirit and what is matter.

PURPORT

These words of Prahlada Maharaja are very important in regard to knowledge descending by the disciplic succession. Even when Prahlada Maharaja was a baby within the womb of his mother, he became fully convinced of the existence of the supreme power because of hearing the powerful instructions of Narada and understood how to attain perfection in life by bhakti-yoga. These are the most important understandings in spiritual knowledge.

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

[SU 6.23]

“Unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, all the imports of Vedic knowledge are automatically revealed.” (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)

atah sri-krsna-namadi
na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
svayam eva sphuraty adah

“No one can understand Krsna as He is by the blunt material senses. But He reveals Himself to the devotees, being pleased with them for their transcendental loving service unto Him.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.234)

bhaktya mam abhijanati
yavan yas casmi tattvatah
tato mam tattvato jnatva
visate tad-anantaram

“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bg. 18.55)

These are Vedic instructions. One must have full faith in the words of the spiritual master and similar faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then the real knowledge of atma and Paramatma and the distinction between matter and spirit will be automatically revealed. This atma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, will be revealed within the core of a devotee’s heart because of his having taken shelter of the lotus feet of a mahajana such as Prahlada Maharaja.

In this verse the word bhuyat may be understood to mean “let there be.” Prahlada Maharaja offers his blessings to his class friends, saying, “Also become faithful like me. Become bona fide Vaisnavas.” A devotee of the Lord desires for everyone to take to Krsna consciousness. Unfortunately, however, people sometimes do not have staunch faith in the words of the spiritual master who comes by the disciplic succession, and therefore they are unable to understand transcendental knowledge. The spiritual master must be in the line of authorized disciplic succession, like Prahlada Maharaja, who received the knowledge from Narada. If the class friends of Prahlada Maharaja, the sons of demons, were to accept the truth through Prahlada, they would certainly also become fully aware of transcendental knowledge.

The words vaisaradi dhih refer to intelligence concerning the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is extremely expert. The Lord has created wonderful universes by His expert knowledge. Unless one is extremely expert, he cannot understand the expert management of the supreme expert. One can understand, however, if one is fortunate enough to meet a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession from Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Mother Laksmi or the Kumaras. These four sampradayas, or disciplic successions of knowledge and transcendence, are called the Brahma-sampradaya, Rudra-sampradaya, Sri-sampradaya, and Kumara-sampradaya. Sampradaya-vihina ye mantras te nisphala matah. The knowledge of the Supreme received from such a sampradaya, or disciplic succession, can give one enlightenment. If one does not take to the path of disciplic succession, it is not possible for one to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If one understands the Supreme Lord through devotional service with faith in the disciplic succession and then advances further, he awakens his natural love for God, and then his success in life is assured.

SB7.7.18

TEXT 18

janmadyah sad ime bhava

drsta dehasya natmanah

phalanam iva vrksasya

kalenesvara-murtina

SYNONYMS

janma-adyah—beginning with birth; sat—the six (birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and at last death); ime—all these; bhavah—different conditions of the body; drstah—seen; dehasya—of the body; na—not; atmanah—of the soul; phalanam—of the fruits; iva—like; vrksasya—of a tree; kalena—in due course of time; isvara-murtina—whose form is the ability to transform or control the bodily activities.

TRANSLATION

Just as the fruits and flowers of a tree in due course of time undergo six changes—birth, existence, growth, transformation, dwindling and then death—the material body, which is obtained by the spirit soul under different circumstances, undergoes similar changes. However, there are no such changes for the spirit soul.

PURPORT

This is a very important verse in understanding the difference between the spiritual soul and the material body. The soul is eternal, as stated in Bhagavad-gita (2.20):

na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire

“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” The spirit soul is eternal, being freed from waste and change, which take place because of the material body. The example of a tree and its fruits and flowers is very simple and clear. A tree stands for many, many years, but with the seasonal changes its fruits and flowers undergo six transformations. The foolish theory of modern chemists that life can be produced by chemical interactions cannot be accepted as truth. The birth of a human being’s material body takes place due to a mixture of the ovum and semen, but the history of birth is that although the ovum and semen mix together after sex, there is not always pregnancy. Unless the soul enters the mixture, there is no possibility of pregnancy, but when the soul takes shelter of the mixture the body takes birth, exists, grows, transforms and dwindles, and ultimately it is vanquished. The fruits and flowers of a tree seasonally come and go, but the tree continues to stand. Similarly, the transmigrating soul accepts various bodies, which undergo six transformations, but the soul remains permanently the same (ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]). The soul is eternal and ever existing, but the bodies accepted by the soul are changing.

There are two kinds of soul—the Supreme Soul (the Personality of Godhead) and the individual soul (the living entity). As various bodily changes take place in the individual soul, different millenniums of creation take place in the Supreme Soul. In this regard, Madhvacarya says:

sad vikarah sarirasya
na visnos tad-gatasya
ca tad-adhinam sariram ca
jnatva tan mamatam tyajet

Since the body is the external feature of the soul, the soul is not dependent on the body; rather, the body is dependent on the soul. One who understands this truth should not be very much anxious about the maintenance of his body. There is no possibility of maintaining the body permanently or eternally. Antavanta ime deha nityasyoktah saririnah. This is the statement of Bhagavad-gita (2.18). The material body is antavat (perishable), but the soul within the body is eternal (nityasyoktah saririnah). Lord Visnu and the individual souls, who are part and parcel of Him, are both eternal. Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam. Lord Visnu is the chief living being, whereas the individual living entities are parts of Lord Visnu. All the various grades of bodies—from the gigantic universal body to the small body of an ant—are perishable, but the Supersoul and the soul, being equal in quality, both exist eternally. This is further explained in the next verses.

Next verse (SB7.7.19-20)