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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 19: The Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī
1.19.11.19.3

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.19.2

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 1.19.1inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

ध्रुवं ततो मे कृतदेवहेलनाद्

दुरत्ययं व्यसनं नातिदीर्घात् ।

तदस्तु कामं ह्यघनिष्कृताय मे

यथा न कुर्यां पुनरेवमद्धा ॥ २ ॥

dhruvaṁ tato me kṛta-deva-helanād

duratyayaṁ vyasanaṁ nāti-dīrghāt

tad astu kāmaṁ hy agha-niṣkṛtāya me

yathā na kuryāṁ punar evam addhā

Translation

[King Parīkṣit thought:] Due to my neglecting the injunctions of the Supreme Lord I must certainly expect some difficulty to overcome me in the near future. I now desire without reservation that the calamity come now, for in this way I may be freed of the sinful action and not commit such an offense again.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Responsible Devotee Accepts Consequences

  1. 1

    The Supreme Lord enjoins that brāhmaṇas and cows must be protected. Mahārāja Parīkṣit understood that insulting a brāhmaṇa violated the Lord’s orders.

  2. 2

    The King wanted the consequences to fall on him alone, not on his family. He wished to counteract his offense and be restrained from repeating it.

  3. 3

    Personal misconduct affects family members, but they also share the effects of a devotee’s service to the Lord. A devotee in the family is a great blessing.

Key points from the purport
  • Mahārāja Parīkṣit knew all this, and thus he concluded that his insulting a powerful brāhmaṇa was certainly to be punished by the laws of the Lord, and he was expecting something very difficult in the very near future.
  • Therefore Mahārāja Parīkṣit desired the calamity to fall on him alone.
  • A devotee son in the family is the greatest boon or blessing of 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 19: The Appearance of Śukadeva Gosvāmī

Parīkṣit accepts impending death, sits beside the Ganges, and asks Śukadeva Gosvāmī about perfection.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.19
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dhruvamsure and certain
  2. tataḥtherefore
  3. memy
  4. kṛta-deva-helanātbecause of disobeying the orders of the Lord
  5. duratyayamvery difficult
  6. vyasanamcalamity
  7. nanot
  8. atigreatly
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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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “offense”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “king”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 1.19

    In this verse: “sinful”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How do my choices affect the people closest to me?

Practice

Identify one mistake for which you are responsible and write down one step to prevent repeating it.

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 1.19's connections

Live this todayA Responsible Devotee Accepts ConsequencesThis 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 1.19.2? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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