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Library » Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) » Canto 11: General History » CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ŚB 11.22.41

Devanagari

स्वप्नं मनोरथं चेत्थं प्राक्तनं न स्मरत्यसौ ।
तत्र पूर्वमिवात्मानमपूर्वम् चानुपश्यति ॥ ४१ ॥

Text

svapnaṁ manorathaṁ cetthaṁ
prāktanaṁ na smaraty asau
tatra pūrvam ivātmānam
apūrvam cānupaśyati

Synonyms

svapnam — a dream; manaḥ-ratham — a daydream; ca — and; ittham — thus; prāktanam — previous; na smarati — does not remember; asau — he; tatra — in that (present body); pūrvam — the previous; iva — as if; ātmānam — himself; apūrvam — having no past; ca — and; anupaśyati — he views.

Translation

Just as a person experiencing a dream or daydream does not remember his previous dreams or daydreams, a person situated in his present body, although having existed prior to it, thinks that he has only recently come into being.

Purport

The objection may be raised that sometimes when experiencing a dream one actually remembers a previous dream. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura replies that by the mystic power of jāti-smara one can remember one’s previous body, and as is well known, “The exception establishes the rule.” Normally, conditioned souls do not perceive their past existence; they think, “I am six years old” or “I am thirty years old,” and “previous to this birth I did not exist.” In such material ignorance one cannot understand the actual situation of the soul.