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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 17: Punishment and Reward of Kali
1.17.191.17.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.17.20

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The personality of religionsince 1.17.17inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

अप्रतर्क्यादनिर्देश्यादिति केष्वपि निश्चय: ।

अत्रानुरूपं राजर्षे विमृश स्वमनीषया ॥ २० ॥

apratarkyād anirdeśyād

iti keṣv api niścayaḥ

atrānurūpaṁ rājarṣe

vimṛśa sva-manīṣayā

Translation

There are also some thinkers who believe that no one can ascertain the cause of distress by argumentation, nor know it by imagination, nor express it by words. O sage amongst kings, judge for yourself by thinking over all this with your own intelligence.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Sincerely Under the Lord’s Witness

  1. 1

    The Lord as Paramātmā resides in everyone’s heart and witnesses every activity. We may forget our actions, but nothing is concealed from Him.

  2. 2

    Knowing this, devotees perform their duties sincerely without excessive anxiety for rewards. The liberated living being serves the Lord voluntarily with love.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s actions cannot be measured by speculation or scholarship. This situation tested Mahārāja Parīkṣit’s greatness in protecting cows and brāhmaṇas, the two pillars of spiritual advancement.

Key points from the purport
  • A living being may forget all that he might have done in his past or present life, but one must know that in the same tree of the material body, the individual soul and the Supreme Soul as Paramātmā are sitting like two birds.
  • One of them, the living being, is enjoying the fruits of the tree, whereas the Supreme Being is there to witness the activities.
  • Therefore the Paramātmā feature, the Supreme Soul, is actually the witness of all activities of the living being, and only by His direction can the living being remember or forget what he might have done in the past.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 1.17.20 quotesBG 15.15

He is the supreme director, for He confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) that He, as all-pervading Paramātmā, stays in everyone’s heart and keeps vigilance over all actions and witnesses all activities.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 17: Punishment and Reward of Kali

Parīkṣit protects a cow and bull from abuse and restricts Kali to five places.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.17
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. apratarkyātbeyond the power of reasoning
  2. anirdeśyātbeyond the power of thinking
  3. itithus
  4. keṣusomeone
  5. apialso
  6. niścayaḥdefinitely concluded
  7. atraherein
  8. anurūpamwhich of them is right
3

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

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.17

    In this verse: “kings”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 1.17

    In this verse: “distress”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 1.17

    In this verse: “duties”

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 would remembering the Lord’s presence in my heart change the way I perform my duties?

Practice

Complete one duty carefully today, remembering the Lord as your witness and setting aside concern for praise or reward.

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 1.17's connections

Live this todayServe Sincerely Under the Lord’s WitnessThis 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 1.17.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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