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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
1.13.221.13.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.23

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 1.13.18inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अहो महीयसी जन्तोर्जीविताशा यथा भवान् ।

भीमापवर्जितं

पिण्डमादत्ते गृहपालवत् ॥ २३ ॥

aho mahīyasī jantor

jīvitāśā yathā bhavān

bhīmāpavarjitaṁ piṇḍam

ādatte gṛha-pālavat

Translation

Alas, how powerful are the hopes of a living being to continue his life. Verily, you are living just like a household dog and are eating remnants of food given by Bhīma.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Human Life Is for Returning to Godhead

  1. 1

    A sādhu should not flatter wealthy or powerful people for comfortable support. His responsibility is to speak the truth about the precarious condition of material life.

  2. 2

    Dhṛtarāṣṭra accepted humiliation because his desire to continue living comfortably was so strong. The urge to continue living indicates that the living entity is eternal.

  3. 3

    The human body, obtained after many births and deaths, offers a chance for self-realization and returning to Godhead. A genuine sādhu helps awaken us to that opportunity and to eternal life there.

Key points from the purport
  • Vidura, therefore, was astonished how powerful is the urge to continue life.
  • Dhṛtarāṣṭra is blind and continues to hope to live comfortably in the midst of all kinds of reverses of life.
  • A sādhu like Vidura is meant to awaken such blind persons and thus help them go back to Godhead, where life is eternal.

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. ahoalas
  2. mahīyasīpowerful
  3. jantoḥof the living beings
  4. jīvita-āśāhope for life
  5. yathāas much as
  6. bhavānyou are
  7. bhīmaof Bhīmasena (a brother of Yudhiṣṭhira’s)
  8. apavarjitamremnants
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “household”, “wealthy”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “deaths”

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

Are your plans mainly for comfort, or do they make room for self-realization?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to study this teaching about using human life to return to Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHuman Life Is for Returning to GodheadThis 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 1.13.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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