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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 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali
1.16.211.16.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.16.22

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.16.10inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

किं क्षत्रबन्धून् कलिनोपसृष्टान्

राष्ट्राणि वा तैरवरोपितानि ।

इतस्ततो वाशनपानवास:

स्‍नानव्यवायोन्मुखजीवलोकम् ॥ २२ ॥

kiṁ kṣatra-bandhūn kalinopasṛṣṭān

rāṣṭrāṇi vā tair avaropitāni

itas tato vāśana-pāna-vāsaḥ-

snāna-vyavāyonmukha-jīva-lokam

Translation

The so-called administrators are now bewildered by the influence of this Age of Kali, and thus they have put all state affairs into disorder. Are you now lamenting this disorder? Now the general populace does not follow the rules and regulations for eating, sleeping, drinking, mating, etc., and they are inclined to perform such anywhere and everywhere. Are you unhappy because of this?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Regulated Living and Good Association Matter

  1. 1

    Humans and animals share bodily demands such as eating and sleeping. Human beings, however, should fulfill these demands according to rules and regulations.

  2. 2

    Bad association can lead innocent people away from good conduct. The purport especially warns about influences that draw young people toward unrestricted sexual indulgence.

  3. 3

    Administrators need proper training in culture and their duties. When both leaders and the people neglect standards of conduct, political, social, and religious affairs become disordered.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore for the human being there are some rules and regulations, even for fulfilling common demands.
  • The human society avoids such rules and regulations when it is bewildered by the influence of the Age of Kali.
  • Therefore, by the influence of the Age of Kali, everywhere, politically, socially or religiously, everything is topsy-turvy, and therefore for the sane man it is all regrettable.

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

Moral alarm → Resolve. The king's duty is tested in a deteriorating age.

Chapters 16–17 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit confronts Kali. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 16: How Parīkṣit Received the Age of Kali

Parīkṣit rules as a devotee while the personality of religion and mother earth discuss their distress.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.16
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kimwhether
  2. kṣatra-bandhūnthe unworthy administrators
  3. kalināby the influence of the Age of Kali
  4. upasṛṣṭānbewildered
  5. rāṣṭrāṇistate affairs
  6. vāor
  7. taiḥby them
  8. avaropitāniput into disorder
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “religious”, “duties”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “administrators”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 1.16

    In this verse: “lamenting”

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

Which influences in my day help me maintain good conduct, and which weaken it?

Practice

Avoid one film or other source of entertainment today that encourages unrestricted sense indulgence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

2 lectures given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

7

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 1.16's connections

Live this todayRegulated Living and Good Association MatterThis 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 1.16.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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