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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
1.13.401.13.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.41

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.13.41inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

नारद उवाच

मा कञ्चन शुचो राजन् यदीश्वरवशं जगत् ।

लोका: सपाला यस्येमे वहन्ति बलिमीशितु: ।

स संयुनक्ति भूतानि स एव वियुनक्ति च ॥ ४१ ॥

nārada uvāca

mā kañcana śuco rājan

yad īśvara-vaśaṁ jagat

lokāḥ sapālā yasyeme

vahanti balim īśituḥ

sa saṁyunakti bhūtāni

sa eva viyunakti ca

Translation

Śrī Nārada said: O pious King, do not lament for anyone, for everyone is under the control of the Supreme Lord. Therefore all living beings and their leaders carry on worship to be well protected. It is He only who brings them together and disperses them.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Everyone Is Under the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Every living being, from Brahmājī to the insignificant ant, is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No leader or living being is independent.

  2. 2

    The Lord brings living beings together and disperses them. Their positions change by His order or through His authorized agents.

  3. 3

    Ordinarily, planning cannot change the happiness and distress due to us under invincible time. Human intelligence should therefore be used to follow Vedic instructions and seek salvation.

Key points from the purport
  • Every living being, either in this material world or in the spiritual world, is under the control of the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead.
  • Thus the constitutional position of the living being is subordination under the control of the Lord.
  • A living being is placed in a particular position by the order of the Supreme Lord, and he is again shifted from that place by the order of the Supreme Lord or His authorized agents.

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. nāradaḥ uvācaNārada said
  2. mānever
  3. kañcanaby all means
  4. śucaḥdo you lament
  5. rājanO King
  6. yatbecause
  7. īśvara-vaśamunder the control of the Supreme Lord
  8. jagatworld
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “lament”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.13

    In this verse: “king”

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 could remembering the Lord’s control change the way you use your intelligence today?

Practice

Set aside five minutes from worrying about circumstances to study this verse’s spiritual instruction.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayEveryone Is Under the Supreme LordThis 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 1.13.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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