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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 10 · The Summum Bonum · 90 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 10 · Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb
10.2.2110.2.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.2.22

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 10.2.1-2inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स एष जीवन् खलु सम्परेतोवर्तेत योऽत्यन्तनृशंसितेन । देहे मृते तं मनुजा: शपन्तिगन्ता तमोऽन्धं तनुमानिनो ध्रुवम् ॥ २२ ॥

sa eṣa jīvan khalu sampareto

varteta yo ’tyanta-nṛśaṁsitena

dehe mṛte taṁ manujāḥ śapanti

gantā tamo ’ndhaṁ tanu-mānino dhruvam

Translation

A person who is very cruel is regarded as dead even while living, for while he is living or after his death, everyone condemns him. And after the death of a person in the bodily concept of life, he is undoubtedly transferred to the hell known as Andhatama.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Leave Cruelty and Bodily Identification Behind

  1. 1

    A very cruel person is condemned both while living and after death. Understanding the soul's transmigration, Kaṁsa refrained from killing Devakī.

  2. 2

    Thinking “I am this body” draws a person into sinful activities for sense gratification. Such actions bind one to repeated material bodies, which are temporary and sources of misery.

  3. 3

    Human life is a boon obtained after many births. Its purpose is to leave the bodily concept of life and realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • In the bodily concept of life, a person is karmānubandha, or conditioned by karma, and as long as the mind is absorbed in karma, one must accept a material body.
  • Therefore Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī says that tanu-mānī, those in the bodily concept of life, are pāpī, sinful persons.
  • Therefore one must free oneself from tanu-mānī, the bodily concept of life, and realize the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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· 4

The purport of SB 10.2.22 quotesSB 7.5.30

punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām. One who is in a bodily concept of life has no control over sense gratification.

The purport of SB 10.2.22 quotesSB 5.5.5

karmātmakaṁ yena śarīra-bandhaḥ. In the bodily concept of life, a person is karmānubandha, or conditioned by karma, and as long as the mind is absorbed in karma, one must accept a material body.

The purport of SB 10.2.22 quotesSB 5.5.4

asann api kleśada āsa dehaḥ. Although the body is temporary, it always gives one trouble in many ways, but human civilization is now unfortunately based on tanu-mānī, the bodily concept of life, by which one thinks, “I belong to this nation,” “I belong to this group,” “I belong to that group,” and so on.

The purport of SB 10.2.22 quotesBG 16.19

In Bhagavad-gītā (16.19-20) the Lord says:

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

Terror → Wonder and relief. The threat of destruction yields to divine appearance.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 10: Threat from Kaṁsa and Kṛṣṇa's birth. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

One may take auspicious strength from Him to become a devotee of the Lord, and therefore He is also known as Balabhadra. After Yoga-māyā transferred the seventh child of Devakī to the womb of Rohiṇī, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared within the heart of Vasudeva and transferred Himself into the heart of Devakī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 10.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥhe
  2. eṣaḥthat jealous person
  3. jīvanwhile living
  4. khalueven
  5. samparetaḥis dead
  6. vartetacontinues to live
  7. yaḥanyone who
  8. atyantavery much
3

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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “death”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 10.2

    In this verse: “sinful”

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

When does concern for my own bodily comfort make me overlook harm to others?

Practice

Before one choice about bodily enjoyment today, pause and ask whether it causes harm; choose the non-cruel option.

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.

The purport quotesSB 7.5.30SB 5.5.5

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.2's connections

Live this todayLeave Cruelty and Bodily Identification BehindThis 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 10.2.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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