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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 1 · Creation · 19 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 1 · Chapter 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home
1.13.201.13.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.21

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 1.13.18inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

पितृभ्रातृसुहृत्पुत्रा हतास्ते विगतं वयम् ।

आत्मा च जरया ग्रस्त: परगेहमुपाससे ॥ २१ ॥

pitṛ-bhrātṛ-suhṛt-putrā

hatās te vigataṁ vayam

ātmā ca jarayā grastaḥ

para-geham upāsase

Translation

Your father, brother, well-wishers and sons are all dead and passed away. You yourself have expended the major portion of your life, your body is now overtaken by invalidity, and you are living in the home of another.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seek the Supreme Lord’s Protection

  1. 1

    Dhṛtarāṣṭra had lost his relatives, well-wishers and wealth, yet still hoped to prolong his life. Vidura urged him to learn from these reverses.

  2. 2

    One should execute one’s duty faithfully while depending on the supreme authority for the result. Our own action must be accompanied by the Lord’s grace.

  3. 3

    Neither family nor the state can protect someone who is not protected by the Supreme Lord. Human life is meant for seeking His protection.

Key points from the purport
  • The King is reminded of his precarious condition, influenced by cruel time, and by his past experience he should have been more intelligent to see what was going to happen to his own life.
  • No friend, no children, no father, no brother, no state and no one else can protect a person who is not protected by the Supreme Lord.
  • One should, therefore, seek the protection of the Supreme Lord, for the human form of life is meant for seeking that protection.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Bereavement → Renunciation. The worldly support system recedes and attachment is exposed.

Chapters 13–15 of Canto 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra departs; Kṛṣṇa disappears; Pāṇḍavas retire. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 13: Dhṛtarāṣṭra Quits Home

Vidura warns of inevitable death; Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves home, and Yudhiṣṭhira finds his elders absent.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.13
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. pitṛfather
  2. bhrātṛbrother
  3. suhṛtwell-wishers
  4. putrāḥsons
  5. hatāḥall dead
  6. teyours
  7. vigatamexpended
  8. vayamage
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “father”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “wealth”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “duty”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How can you carry out your duties while depending more fully on the Lord?

Practice

Before one duty today, offer a brief prayer for the Supreme Lord’s protection and leave the result to Him.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 1.13's connections

Live this todaySeek the Supreme Lord’s ProtectionThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 1.13.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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