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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 5: Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for Vyāsadeva
1.5.321.5.34

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.5.33

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 1.5.8inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaNārada Muni → Vyāsadeva

आमयो यश्च भूतानां जायते येन सुव्रत ।

तदेव ह्यामयं द्रव्यं न पुनाति चिकित्सितम् ॥ ३३ ॥

āmayo yaś ca bhūtānāṁ

jāyate yena suvrata

tad eva hy āmayaṁ dravyaṁ

na punāti cikitsitam

Translation

O good soul, does not a thing, applied therapeutically, cure a disease which was caused by that very same thing?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Service Spiritualizes Material Things

  1. 1

    Something that causes disease can, when properly treated, become its remedy. Similarly, material activities must be spiritualized to relieve the miseries of material existence.

  2. 2

    A thing’s material conception changes when it is put into the Lord’s service, just as iron becomes red-hot through fire. Employing matter in His service is the necessary condition for this change.

  3. 3

    We should neither try to dominate material nature nor simply reject material things. Using everything in relation to the Supreme Spirit elevates us toward the spiritual plane, free from misery, lamentation and fear.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, the material conception of a thing is at once changed as soon as it is put into the service of the Lord.
  • Therefore a material thing (so-called) is at once turned into a spiritual force by the great will of the Lord.
  • When everything is thus employed in the service of the Lord, we can experience that there is nothing except the Supreme Brahman.

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

Quoted in the purport ofSB 10.29.16

In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.33), Nārada Muni states: “O good soul, does not a thing applied therapeutically cure a disease that was caused by that very same thing?”

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

Dissatisfaction → Inspired clarity. Even great accomplishment leaves Vyāsa without contentment until devotion is centered.

Chapters 4–6 of Canto 1: Vyāsa is dissatisfied; Nārada directs him to the Lord. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 5: Nārada’s Instructions on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for Vyāsadeva

Nārada urges Vyāsadeva to describe the Lord’s glories and recalls his own service to sages.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.5
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. āmayaḥdiseases
  2. yaḥ cawhatever
  3. bhūtānāmof the living being
  4. jāyatebecome possible
  5. yenaby the agency
  6. suvrataO good soul
  7. tatthat
  8. evavery
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “material”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 1.5

    In this verse: “fear”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What ordinary possession could I use in the Lord’s service rather than merely for my own enjoyment?

Practice

Use one item you already own to help you read or hear about the Lord today.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

6

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayService Spiritualizes Material ThingsThis 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.

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