Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 Chapter 15 Verse 24

Canto 11: General History | Chapter 15: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Description of Mystic Yoga Perfections

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.15.24

pārṣṇyāpīḍya gudaḿ prāṇaḿ

hṛd-uraḥ-kaṇṭha-mūrdhasu

āropya brahma-randhreṇa

brahma nītvotsṛjet tanum

SYNONYMS

pārṣṇyā — with the heel of the foot; āpīḍya — blocking; gudam — the anus; prāṇam — the vital air carrying the living entity; hṛt — from the heart; uraḥ — to the chest; kaṇṭha — to the neck; mūrdhasu — and to the head; āropya — placing; brahma-randhreṇa — by the spiritual seat at the top of the head; brahma — to the spiritual world or impersonal Brahman (or any other destination one has selected); nītvā — leading (the soul); utsṛjet — one should give up; tanum — the material body.

TRANSLATION

The yogī who has achieved the mystic perfection called svacchanda-mṛtyu blocks the anus with the heel of the foot and then lifts the soul from the heart to the chest, to the neck and finally to the head. Situated within the brahma-randhra, the yogī then gives up his material body and guides the spirit soul to the selected destination.

PURPORT

This mystic opulence of svacchandu-mṛtyu, or dying at will, was wonderfully exhibited by Bhīṣmadeva at the end of the Battle of Kurukṣetra. According to Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī, the term brahma, as used in this verse, is an example of upalakṣaṇa, or the use of a general term to indicate various concepts. Brahma here indicates the particular destination selected by the yogī, namely the spiritual sky, the impersonal brahmajyoti or any other destination that has attracted the yogī's mind.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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