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

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Canto 11 · General History · 31 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 11 · Chapter 18: Description of Varṇāśrama-dharma
11.18.1511.18.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.18.16

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Supreme Personality of Godheadsince 11.18.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → Uddhava

द‍ृष्टिपूतं न्यसेत् पादं वस्‍त्रपूतं पिबेज्जलम् ।

सत्यपूतां वदेद् वाचं मन:पूतं समाचरेत् ॥ १६ ॥

dṛṣṭi-pūtaṁ nyaset pādaṁ

vastra-pūtaṁ pibej jalam

satya-pūtāṁ vaded vācaṁ

manaḥ-pūtaṁ samācaret

Translation

A saintly person should step or place his foot on the ground only after verifying with his eyes that there are no living creatures, such as insects, who might be injured by his foot. He should drink water only after filtering it through a portion of his cloth, and he should speak only words that possess the purity of truth. Similarly, he should perform only those activities his mind has carefully ascertained to be pure.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Purify Actions, Speech and Intention

  1. 1

    A saintly person walks carefully to avoid injuring tiny creatures and filters drinking water through cloth to avoid swallowing them.

  2. 2

    Untruths spoken for sense gratification harm devotional service. Impersonal philosophy and praise of material sense gratification also contaminate the heart.

  3. 3

    One should carefully consider whether an activity is pure. The purport teaches that only devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa has ultimate value.

Key points from the purport
  • While walking, a saintly person is careful not to kill any tiny creatures on the ground.
  • Similarly, he filters his drinking water through cloth to avoid swallowing small creatures living within the water.
  • By serious consideration one can understand that any activity other than devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa has no ultimate value; therefore one should exclusively engage in the purified activities of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

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

Uncertainty → Clarity. The coming separation makes the instruction personally urgent.

Chapters 10–20 of Canto 11: Kṛṣṇa's teachings on self, yoga and wisdom. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: Description of Varṇāśrama-dharma

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He should bathe three times daily in cold water and sleep upon the ground. During the hot season he should stand beneath the fearsome heat of the sun with fires blazing on four sides.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dṛṣṭiby the sight
  2. pūtamascertained as pure
  3. nyasethe should place
  4. pādamhis foot
  5. vastraby his cloth
  6. pūtamfiltered
  7. pibethe should drink
  8. jalamwater
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.18

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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.18

    In this verse: “devotional service”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 11.18

    In this verse: “contaminate”

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

Do my words support loving service to the Lord or encourage material sense gratification?

Practice

Before speaking today, pause once to check that your words are truthful and do not glorify sense gratification.

Live this todayPurify Actions, Speech and IntentionThis 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 11.18.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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