Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 1.15.22-23
Nirodha· Winding upIntoxication Turns Relatives Against One Another
“O King, since you have asked me about our friends and relatives in the city of Dvārakā, I will inform you that all of them were cursed by the brāhmaṇas, and as a result they all became intoxicated with wine made of putrefied rice and fought among themselves with sticks, not even recognizing one another. Now all but four or five of them are dead and gone.”
What the purport teaches
- Arjuna answers the King’s inquiry about their friends and relatives in Dvārakā. He reports that they had been cursed by the brāhmaṇas.
- They drank wine made from putrefied rice and became intoxicated. No longer recognizing one another, they fought among themselves with sticks.
- Only four or five remained alive. Arjuna’s report describes the devastating loss of their friends and relatives.
Try this today
Choose to refrain from intoxicating drinks today, remembering their destructive role in this account.
Ask yourself
What does this account show you about intoxication’s power to destroy recognition and care between people?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.