FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.29.5

बुद्धिं तु प्रमदां विद्यान्ममाहमिति यत्कृतम् । यामधिष्ठाय देहेऽस्मिन् पुमान् भुङ्क्तेऽक्षभिर्गुणान् ॥ ५ ॥
buddhiṁ tu pramadāṁ vidyān
[buddhim tu pramadaam vidyaan]
mamāham iti yat-kṛtam
[mamaaham iti yat-kritam]
yām adhiṣṭhāya dehe ’smin
[yaam adhishthaaya dehe ’smin]
pumān bhuṅkte ’kṣabhir guṇān
[pumaan bhunkte ’kshabhir gunaan]
buddhim — intelligence tu — then pramadām — the young woman (Purañjanī) vidyāt — one should know mama — my aham — I iti — thus yat-kṛtam — done by intelligence yām — which intelligence adhiṣṭhāya — taking shelter of dehe — in the body asmin — this pumān — the living entity bhuṅkte — suffers and enjoys akṣabhiḥ — by the senses guṇān — the modes of material nature.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
buddhiṁ tu pramadāṁ vidyān
buddhim
intelligence
tu
then
pramadām
the young woman (Purañjanī)
vidyāt
one should know
mamāham iti yat-kṛtam
mama
my
aham
I
iti
thus
yat-kṛtam
done by intelligence
yām adhiṣṭhāya dehe ’smin
yām
which intelligence
adhiṣṭhāya
taking shelter of
dehe
in the body
asmin
this
pumān bhuṅkte ’kṣabhir guṇān
pumān
the living entity
bhuṅkte
suffers and enjoys
akṣabhiḥ
by the senses
guṇān
the modes of material nature.
The great sage Nārada continued: The word pramadā mentioned in this regard refers to material intelligence, or ignorance. It is to be understood as such. When one takes shelter of this kind of intelligence, he identifies himself with the material body. Influenced by the material consciousness of “I” and “mine,” he begins to enjoy and suffer through his senses. Thus the living entity is entrapped.

In material existence so-called intelligence is actually ignorance. When intelligence is cleared up, it is called buddhi-yoga. In other words, when intelligence is dovetailed with the desires of Kṛṣṇa, it is called buddhi-yoga or bhakti-yoga. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10) Kṛṣṇa says:

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te

“To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Real intelligence means linking with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When this is done, the Supreme Personality of Godhead from within gives one the real intelligence by which one can return home, back to Godhead. Intelligence in the material world is described in this verse as pramadā because in material existence the living entity falsely claims things to be his. He thinks, “I am the monarch of all I survey.” This is ignorance. Actually, nothing belongs to him. Even the body and the senses do not belong to him, for they are given to him by the grace of the Lord to satisfy his different propensities through the material energy. Nothing actually belongs to the living entity, but he becomes mad after everything, claiming, “This is mine. This is mine. This is mine.” Janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti. This is called illusion. Nothing belongs to the living entity, but he claims that everything belongs to him. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends that this false intelligence be purified ( ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam ). When the mirror of intelligence is polished, the real activities of the living entity begin. This means that when a person comes to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, his real intelligence acts. At that time he knows that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa and nothing belongs to him. As long as one thinks that everything belongs to him, he is in material consciousness, and when he knows perfectly that everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, he is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Know that the women is intelligence (actually ignorance), which produces the concepts of I and mine, taking shelter of which, the jīva enjoys the guṇas with his senses in the body. Buddhim means ignorance. Akṣabhiḥ means “by the senses.”
Pramadā here means material intelligence/ignorance; sheltering in it leads to body-identification. The 'wife' in the parable is not a person but a mode of intelligence; recognize what you're actually attached to.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'female' (material-intelligence mode) am I actually attached to behind my visible attachments?
  • Where would un-attaching from material intelligence dissolve a relational confusion?
📝 My note

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