1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 11 · General History · 31 chapters

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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.7.50

Who is speaking and story frame

गुणैर्गुणानुपादत्ते यथाकालं विमुञ्चति ।

न तेषु युज्यते योगी गोभिर्गा इव गोपति: ॥ ५० ॥

guṇair guṇān upādatte

yathā-kālaṁ vimuñcati

na teṣu yujyate yogī

gobhir gā iva go-patiḥ

Translation

Just as the sun evaporates large quantities of water by its potent rays and later returns the water to the earth in the form of rain, similarly, a saintly person accepts all types of material objects with his material senses, and at the appropriate time, when the proper person has approached him to request them, he returns such material objects. Thus, both in accepting and giving up the objects of the senses, he is not entangled.

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.

Use Kṛṣṇa’s Resources Without Claiming Ownership

  1. 1

    The sun draws up water and later returns it as rain. Similarly, a saintly person accepts and gives material objects without becoming entangled.

  2. 2

    A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not feel ownership over resources entrusted to him by Lord Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    Devotees should not merely accumulate wealth. They should distribute the Lord’s resources in ways that spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Key points from the purport
  • A Kṛṣṇa conscious person never feels proprietorship over the opulences entrusted to him by Lord Kṛṣṇa for spreading the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
  • The devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa should not merely accumulate material wealth, but should distribute the opulences of Lord Kṛṣṇa in such a way that the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spreads unlimitedly.
  • This is a lesson to be learned from the sun.

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

Grief and dependence → Detachment. The temporary world becomes a source of spiritual instruction.

Chapters 7–9 of Canto 11: The avadhuta's twenty-four teachers. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 7: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

From the wind, manifesting in the form of the vital air within the body, he had learned how to be satisfied with merely keeping oneself alive, and from the external wind he had learned how to remain uncontaminated by the body and the objects of the senses. From the sky he had learned how the soul, which pervades all material substances, is both indivisible and imperceptible, and from the water he had learned how to be naturally clear and purifying.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. guṇaiḥby his senses
  2. guṇānmaterial sense objects
  3. upādatteaccepts
  4. yathā-kālamat the proper time
  5. vimuñcatigives them up
  6. nahe does not
  7. teṣuin them
  8. yujyatebecome entangled
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 11.7

    In this verse: “material”, “wealth”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 11.7

    In this verse: “devotees”

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 I see my resources as possessions to accumulate or as something entrusted to me for service?

Practice

Use a small amount of money or one useful possession today to help spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayUse Kṛṣṇa’s Resources Without Claiming OwnershipThis 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 11.7.50? Get an answer from the verses themselves.