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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

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 10 · Chapter 49: Akrūra’s Mission in Hastināpura

10.49.18 10.49.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 10.49.19

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Akrūrasince 10.49.17inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अन्यथा त्वाचरँल्ल‍ोके गर्हितो यास्यसे तम: ।

तस्मात् समत्वे वर्तस्व पाण्डवेष्वात्मजेषु च ॥ १९ ॥

anyathā tv ācaraḻ loke

garhito yāsyase tamaḥ

tasmāt samatve vartasva

pāṇḍaveṣv ātmajeṣu ca

Translation

If you act otherwise, however, people will condemn you in this world, and in the next life you will enter the darkness of hell. Remain equally disposed, therefore, toward Pāṇḍu’s sons and your own.

Read the purport on Vedabase.io

From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Good Advice Requires a Pure Heart

1
Akrūra warned that unjust conduct would bring condemnation in this world and the darkness of hell in the next. Dhṛtarāṣṭra should remain equally disposed toward Pāṇḍu’s sons and his own.
2
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s excessive attachment to his sons was the fatal flaw that caused his downfall. He received sound advice and even acknowledged it, but could not follow it.
3
Clear, practical intelligence is possible when the mind and heart are pure. Merely recognizing good advice is not enough.

Key points from the purport

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s whole problem was his excessive attachment to his nasty sons.
That was the fatal flaw that caused his downfall.
One can have clear, practical intelligence when the mind and heart are pure.

The purport'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

Heartache → Unbroken remembrance. Love endures and deepens despite visible absence.

Chapters 46–49 of Canto 10: Uddhava, the gopīs and the Song of the Bee. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 49: Akrūra’s Mission in Hastināpura

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

But if you act otherwise, you will attain only infamy in this life and condemnation to a hellish existence in the next. A living being takes his birth all alone, and alone he gives up his life.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 10.49

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

anyathāotherwise
tuhowever
ācaranacting
lokein this world
garhitaḥcondemned
yāsyaseyou will attain
tamaḥdarkness
tasmāttherefore

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
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 10.49
In this verse: “attachment”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What attachment keeps me from following advice I know is sound?

Practice

Choose one piece of sound advice you have resisted and take one small step to follow it.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves homeSB 1.13 · Dhṛtarāṣṭra leaves homeNo one in the material world can prevent the approach of time and the decline of the body. Understanding this calls one away from bodily attachment toward spiritual realization.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 10.49's connections

Live this todayGood Advice Requires a Pure HeartThis 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 10.49.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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