FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.54

हंसावहं च त्वं चार्य सखायौ मानसायनौ । अभूतामन्तरा वौक: सहस्रपरिवत्सरान् ॥ ५४ ॥
haṁsāv ahaṁ ca tvaṁ cārya
[hamsaav aham cha tvam chaarya]
sakhāyau mānasāyanau
[sakhaayau maanasaayanau]
abhūtām antarā vaukaḥ
[abhootaam antaraa vaukah]
sahasra-parivatsarān
[sahasra-parivatsaraan]
Word-for-word
haṁsau — two swans aham — I ca — and tvam — you ca — also ārya — O great soul sakhāyau — friends mānasa-ayanau — together in the Mānasa Lake abhūtām — became antarā — separated vā — indeed okaḥ — from the original home sahasra — thousands pari — successively vatsarān — years.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
haṁsāv ahaṁ ca tvaṁ cārya
haṁsau
two swans
aham
I
ca
and
tvam
you
ca
also
ārya
O great soul
sakhāyau mānasāyanau
sakhāyau
friends
mānasa-ayanau
together in the Mānasa Lake
abhūtām antarā vaukaḥ
abhūtām
became
antarā
separated
vā
indeed
okaḥ
from the original home
sahasra-parivatsarān
sahasra
thousands
pari
successively
vatsarān
years.
My dear gentle friend, both you and I are exactly like two swans. We live together in the same heart, which is just like the Mānasa Lake. Although we have been living together for many thousands of years, we are still far away from our original home.
Purport

The original home of the living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the spiritual world. In the spiritual world both the Lord and the living entities live together very peacefully. Since the living entity remains engaged in the service of the Lord, they both share a blissful life in the spiritual world. However, when the living entity wants to enjoy himself, he falls down into the material world. Even while he is in that position, the Lord remains with him as the Supersoul, his intimate friend. Because of his forgetfulness, the living entity does not know that the Supreme Lord is accompanying him as the Supersoul. In this way the living entity remains conditioned in each and every millennium. Although the Lord follows him as a friend, the living entity, because of forgetful material existence, does not recognize Him.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O noble one! I and you were two swans, friends in Mānasa Lake. Previously, for a thousand years, we were without a house. We were two pure ātmās. Mānasa ayanam is the shelter of the heart. We were two pure ātmās, friends, whose dwelling place is the heart. In the story, the meaning is “We were born as two birds in Mānasa Lake.” We were without a house (okaḥ antarā). The word vā is for emphasis like eva. (Previously to dwelling together in the heart), during the great devastation or mahā-pralaya (sahasras-parivatsarān), [Note: During mahā-pralaya no material bodies or hearts exist. ]we remained without a house.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
You and I are like two swans in the same heart-lake; we've lived together for thousands of years but are far from our original home. Cohabitation is real; relocation is the work — same lake, wrong continent.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I sit in the same lake as the Supersoul but feel a continent away?
  • What would 'returning to original home' actually require this lifetime?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

← Read full Chapter 28