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

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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
1.13.571.13.59

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.13.58

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.13.41inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

दह्यमानेऽग्निभिर्देहे पत्यु: पत्नी सहोटजे ।

बहि: स्थिता पतिं साध्वी तमग्निमनु वेक्ष्यति ॥ ५८ ॥

dahyamāne ’gnibhir dehe

patyuḥ patnī sahoṭaje

bahiḥ sthitā patiṁ sādhvī

tam agnim anu vekṣyati

Translation

While outside observing her husband, who will burn in the fire of mystic power along with his thatched cottage, his chaste wife will enter the fire with rapt attention.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Gāndhārī’s Grief and the Warning Against Force

  1. 1

    Gāndhārī had already lost her one hundred sons. Seeing her husband burning with his cottage, she felt alone and followed him into the fire.

  2. 2

    The purport describes her action as the satī rite and presents it in the setting of her extraordinary attachment to her husband. It also states that women in this fallen age cannot follow the rite as she did.

  3. 3

    The purport strongly condemns forcing an unwilling woman to undergo this rite. When it became a forced formality, it became criminal and had to be stopped by state law.

Key points from the purport
  • Gāndhārī was an ideal chaste lady, a life companion of her husband, and therefore when she saw her husband burning in the fire of mystic yoga along with his cottage of leaves, she despaired.
  • This entering of a chaste lady into the fire of her dead husband is called the satī rite, and the action is considered to be most perfect for a woman.
  • A chaste wife like Gāndhārī would feel the separation of her husband to be more burning than actual fire.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dahyamānewhile it is burning
  2. agnibhiḥby the fire
  3. dehethe body
  4. patyuḥof the husband
  5. patnīthe wife
  6. saha-uṭajealong with the thatched cottage
  7. bahiḥoutside
  8. sthitāsituated
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “attachment”

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

Why is the purport’s condemnation of force essential to understanding this account?

Practice

Write down the purport’s clear warning that forcing a woman to undergo the satī rite is criminal.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayGāndhārī’s Grief and the Warning Against ForceThis 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 1.13.58? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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