Text 5
atha baddhasya muktasya
vailakṣaṇyaṁ vadāmi te
viruddha-dharmiṇos tāta
sthitayor eka-dharmiṇi
atha — thus; baddhasya — of the conditioned soul; muktasya — of the liberated Personality of Godhead; vailakṣaṇyam — different characteristics; vadāmi — I will now speak; te — unto you; viruddha — opposing; dharmiṇoḥ — whose two natures; tāta — My dear Uddhava; sthitayoḥ — of the two who are situated; eka-dharmiṇi — in the one body which manifests their different characteristics.
Thus, My dear Uddhava, in the same material body we find opposing characteristics, such as great happiness and misery. That is because both the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally liberated, as well as the conditioned soul are within the body. I shall now speak to you about their different characteristics.
In verse 36 of the previous chapter, Uddhava inquired about the different symptoms of liberated and conditioned life. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains that the characteristics of bondage and liberation may be understood in two divisions — as the difference between the ordinary conditioned soul and the eternally liberated Personality of Godhead, or as the difference between conditioned and liberated living entities in the jīva category. The Lord will first explain the difference between the ordinary living entity and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which may be understood as the difference between the controlled and the controller.