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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

1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
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 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntī and Parīkṣit Saved

1.8.25 1.8.27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.8.26

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Queen Kuntīsince 1.8.18inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

जन्मैश्वर्यश्रुतश्रीभिरेधमानमद: पुमान् ।

नैवार्हत्यभिधातुं वै त्वामकिञ्चनगोचरम् ॥ २६ ॥

janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrībhir

edhamāna-madaḥ pumān

naivārhaty abhidhātuṁ vai

tvām akiñcana-gocaram

Translation

My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Humility Makes Calling Kṛṣṇa Sincere

1
High parentage, wealth, education and beauty can intoxicate a person with pride in temporary possessions. Such pride obstructs approaching the Lord with sincere feeling.
2
The Lord’s holy name has great power, but the quality of feeling in uttering it matters. A helpless person can sincerely call, “O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa.”
3
The aim is to decrease material intoxication rather than increase it. The purport compares this decrease to a fever falling, a sign of improvement rather than a cause for discouragement.

Key points from the purport

A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere.
A materially puffed up person may utter the holy name of the Lord occasionally, but he is incapable of uttering the name in quality.
Therefore, the four principles of material advancement, namely (1) high parentage, (2) good wealth, (3) high education and (4) attractive beauty, are, so to speak, disqualifications for progress on the path of spiritual advancement.

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 4.7.37

Also, in the prayers of Kuntī it is stated that only those who are akiñcana-gocaram, who are not materially puffed up, can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead; others are bewildered and cannot even think of the Absolute Truth.

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

Grief → Trust. Violence and bereavement make Kṛṣṇa's protective presence precious.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 1: Postwar anguish, Kuntī and Bhīṣma. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntī and Parīkṣit Saved

Kṛṣṇa protects Parīkṣit, Kuntī prays for undivided attraction to Him, and Yudhiṣṭhira grieves.

Back to this verse in chapter 1.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

janmabirth
aiśvaryaopulence
śrutaeducation
śrībhiḥby the possession of beauty
edhamānaprogressively increasing
madaḥintoxication
pumānthe human being
nanever

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 1.8
In this verse: “materially”, “wealth”, “material”
Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting
Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 1.8
In this verse: “holy name”
Dainya · Humility
Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 1.8
In this verse: “pride”

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which temporary possession or advantage most tempts me to feel self-sufficient?

Practice

Quietly say, “O Govinda, O Kṛṣṇa,” giving attention to sincere feeling rather than pride in your circumstances.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

2 lectures given on it · quoted in 51 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 51 other lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayHumility Makes Calling Kṛṣṇa SincereOne of the 108 chosen lessons: a practice and a question from this verse

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 1.8.26? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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