Canto & Chapters
General History (31 Chapters)
Chapter 120v
The Curse upon the Yadu Dynasty
Chapter 254v
Mahārāja Nimi Meets the Nine Yogendras
Chapter 352v
Liberation from the Illusory Energy
Chapter 423v
Drumila Explains the Incarnations of Godhead to King Nimi
Chapter 549v
Nārada Concludes His Teachings to Vasudeva
Chapter 644v
The Yadu Dynasty Retires to Prabhāsa
Chapter 772v
Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava
Chapter 843v
The Story of Piṅgalā
Chapter 932v
Detachment from All that Is Material
Chapter 1032v
The Nature of Fruitive Activity
Chapter 1134v
The Symptoms of Conditioned and Liberated Living Entities
Chapter 1218v
Beyond Renunciation and Knowledge
Chapter 1341v
The Haṁsa-avatāra Answers the Questions of the Sons of Brahmā
Chapter 1437v
Lord Kṛṣṇa Explains the Yoga System to Śrī Uddhava
Chapter 1533v
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Description of Mystic Yoga Perfections
Chapter 1644v
The Lord’s Opulence
Chapter 1754v
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Description of the Varṇāśrama System
Chapter 1847v
Description of Varṇāśrama-dharma
Chapter 1927v
The Perfection of Spiritual Knowledge
Chapter 2035v
Pure Devotional Service Surpasses Knowledge and Detachment
Chapter 2139v
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Explanation of the Vedic Path
Chapter 2256v
Enumeration of the Elements of Material Creation
Chapter 2359v
The Song of the Avantī Brāhmaṇa
Chapter 2424v
The Philosophy of Sāṅkhya
Chapter 2533v
The Three Modes of Nature and Beyond
Chapter 2634v
The Aila-gītā
Chapter 2748v
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Instructions on the Process of Deity Worship
Chapter 2843v
Jñāna-yoga
Chapter 2945v
Bhakti-yoga
Chapter 3046v
The Disappearance of the Yadu Dynasty
Chapter 3126v
The Disappearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Canto 11, Chapter 22

Enumeration of the Elements of Material Creation

Verse 53 (SB 11.22.53)
SB 11.22.53 • मूल श्लोक

नृत्यतो गायत: पश्यन् यथैवानुकरोति तान् । एवं बुद्धिगुणान् पश्यन्ननीहोऽप्यनुकार्यते ॥ ५३ ॥

Transliteration

nṛtyato gāyataḥ paśyan yathaivānukaroti tān evaṁ buddhi-guṇān paśyann anīho ’py anukāryate

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

nṛtyataḥ — persons who are dancing; gāyataḥ — and singing; paśyan — observing; yathā — just as; eva — indeed; anukaroti — imitates; tān — them; evam — thus; buddhi — of the material intelligence; guṇān — the acquired qualities; paśyan — seeing; anīhaḥ — although not himself engaged in activity; api — nevertheless; anukāryate — is made to imitate.

Translation

“Just as one may imitate persons whom one sees dancing and singing, similarly the soul, although never the doer of material activities, becomes captivated by material intelligence and is thus forced to imitate its qualities.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda
Sometimes people are captivated by professional singers and dancers and imitate within their minds the musical rhythms and melodies of the performers along with their romantic, humorous or heroic emotions. People sing songs heard on the radio and imitate dances and dramatic performances seen on television or in movies and theaters, entering into the emotions and art of the performer. The conditioned soul is similarly captivated by the concoctions of the material mind and intelligence, which convince him that he can become the enjoyer of the material world. Although different from the material body and never the actual performer of its activities, the conditioned soul is induced to engage his body in material activities, which entangle him in the cycle of birth and death. One should not accept the illicit propositions of material intelligence, but rather should engage himself fully in the service of the Lord in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.