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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 8: Prayers by Queen Kuntī and Parīkṣit Saved
1.8.511.9.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 1.8.52

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhirasince 1.8.48inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

यथा पङ्केन पङ्काम्भ: सुरया वा सुराकृतम् ।

भूतहत्यां तथैवैकां न यज्ञैर्मार्ष्टुमर्हति ॥ ५२ ॥

yathā paṅkena paṅkāmbhaḥ

surayā vā surākṛtam

bhūta-hatyāṁ tathaivaikāṁ

na yajñair mārṣṭum arhati

Translation

As it is not possible to filter muddy water through mud, or purify a wine-stained pot with wine, it is not possible to counteract the killing of men by sacrificing animals.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve the Lord Without Excusing Harm

  1. 1

    Just as mud cannot cleanse muddy water, sacrificing animals cannot counteract the killing of men. The prescribed animal sacrifices were intended to give animals renewed life, not simply to kill them.

  2. 2

    Such sacrifices cannot be performed perfectly in this age because expert brāhmaṇas are lacking. The only sacrifice recommended in Kali-yuga is hari-nāma-yajña, inaugurated by Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

  3. 3

    One must not kill animals and then use hari-nāma-yajña to counteract it. Devotees do not kill animals for self-interest or neglect their prescribed duty; their purpose is to do everything for the Lord’s will.

Key points from the purport
  • Aśvamedha-yajñas or gomedha-yajñas, sacrifices in which a horse or a bull is sacrificed, were not, of course, for the purpose of killing the animals.
  • But one should not indulge in animal killing and counteract it by performing the hari-nāma-yajña.
  • The whole purpose, therefore, is served when everything is done for the will 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

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

Further reading

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yathāas much as
  2. paṅkenaby the mud
  3. paṅka-ambhaḥwater mixed with mud
  4. surayāby wine
  5. vāeither
  6. surākṛtamimpurity caused by the slight touch of wine
  7. bhūta-hatyāmkilling of animals
  8. tathālike that
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “purify”, “cleanse”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “devotees”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 1.8

    In this verse: “duty”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I using a devotional practice to excuse harm, or allowing it to guide me toward serving the Lord’s will?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes today to chant the Lord’s holy names as devotional service, not as an excuse to continue harmful actions.

5

The story around it

The story 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 todayServe the Lord Without Excusing HarmThis 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 1.8.52? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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