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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.26.18

Who is speaking and story frame

क्व‍ायं मलीमस: कायो दौर्गन्ध्याद्यात्मकोऽशुचि: ।

क्व‍ गुणा: सौमनस्याद्या ह्यध्यासोऽविद्यया कृत: ॥ १८ ॥

kvāyaṁ malīmasaḥ kāyo

daurgandhyādy-ātmako ’śuciḥ

kva guṇāḥ saumanasyādyā

hy adhyāso ’vidyayā kṛtaḥ

Translation

What is this polluted body anyway — so filthy and full of bad odors? I was attracted by the fragrance and beauty of a woman’s body, but what are those so-called attractive features? They are simply a false covering created by illusion.

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.

See Beyond the Covering of Beauty

  1. 1

    Purūravā questions the fragrance and beauty that had attracted him to Urvaśī's body. He recognizes them as a false covering created by illusion.

  2. 2

    The purport describes the body as containing stool, gas, bile, mucus, hairs and other repugnant elements. Its attractive surface conceals its material contents.

  3. 3

    By seeing through his former fascination, Purūravā is becoming sane. His judgment is no longer ruled entirely by bodily attraction.

Key points from the purport
  • Purūravā now understands that although he was madly attracted to the fragrant, shapely body of Urvaśī, in fact that body was a sack of stool, gas, bile, mucus, hairs and other repugnant elements.
  • In other words, Purūravā is now becoming sane.

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

Striving → Complete devotional trust. The Lord redirects Uddhava toward enduring loving service.

Chapters 21–29 of Canto 11: Spiritual practice culminating in bhakti-yoga. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 26: The Aila-gītā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He described that persons who are attached to the body of a woman (or a man) — which is simply a mass of skin, meat, blood, sinew, brain tissue, marrow and bones — are not much different from worms. What is the worth of the education, austerity, renunciation, reception of the Vedas, solitary living and silence of one whose mind becomes stolen away by the body of a woman?
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.26
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvawhere
  2. ayamthis
  3. malīmasaḥvery filthy
  4. kāyaḥmaterial body
  5. daurgandhyabad odor
  6. ādiand so on
  7. ātmakaḥconsisting of
  8. aśuciḥunclean
3

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 11.26

    In this verse: “illusion”, “material”

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

How does outward beauty influence my judgment of what is truly desirable?

Practice

When bodily beauty captures your attention today, briefly remember that appearance conceals the body's ordinary material contents.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySee Beyond the Covering of BeautyThis 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 11.26.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.