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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.18.31

Who is speaking and story frame

एष किं निभृताशेषकरणो मीलितेक्षण: ।

मृषासमाधिराहोस्वित्किं नु

स्यात्क्षत्रबन्धुभि: ॥ ३१ ॥

eṣa kiṁ nibhṛtāśeṣa-

karaṇo mīlitekṣaṇaḥ

mṛṣā-samādhir āhosvit

kiṁ nu syāt kṣatra-bandhubhiḥ

Translation

Upon returning, he began to contemplate and argue within himself whether the sage had actually been in meditation, with senses concentrated and eyes closed, or whether he had just been feigning trance just to avoid receiving a lower kṣatriya.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Repentance and the Lord’s Higher Purpose

  1. 1

    As a devotee of the Lord, the King did not approve of his own action. Repentance comes to a good soul as soon as something wrong is done.

  2. 2

    The Lord arranged this situation to bring the King back home, back to Godhead. His meeting with Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī would enable the presentation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the book incarnation of the Lord.

  3. 3

    The pure devotee’s worldly frustration is meant to raise the devotee to a higher transcendental position. Properly learning about the Lord’s rāsa-līlā turns one away from mundane sex desire toward sublime devotional service.

Key points from the purport
  • The King, being a devotee of the Lord, did not approve of his own action, and thus he began to wonder whether the sage was really in a trance or was just pretending in order to avoid receiving the King, who was a kṣatriya and therefore lower in rank.
  • So by placing King Parīkṣit in an awkward position, the incarnation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was created by the will of the Lord.
  • The situation, in this case, was therefore all planned by the Lord.

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

Remorse and urgency → Surrender and inquiry. Seven days to live become the impetus for complete spiritual hearing.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit is cursed and welcomes Śukadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy

A sage’s son curses Parīkṣit, but his father condemns the punishment of the saintly king.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.18
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. eṣaḥthis
  2. kimwhether
  3. nibhṛta-aśeṣameditative mood
  4. karaṇaḥsenses
  5. mīlitaclosed
  6. īkṣaṇaḥeyes
  7. mṛṣāfalse
  8. samādhiḥtrance
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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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.18

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.18

    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

Does regret lead me to examine my actions and turn toward devotional service?

Practice

Read a short passage of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam today with the intention of deepening your devotional service.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

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Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Live this todayRepentance and the Lord’s Higher PurposeThis 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 1.18.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.