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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

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 11 · Chapter 7: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava

11.7.54 11.7.56

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.7.55

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The brāhmaṇasince 11.7.32inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → UddhavaThe avadhūta → King Yadu

शय्यासनाटनस्थानवार्ताक्रीडाशनादिकम् ।

मिथुनीभूय विश्रब्धौ चेरतुर्वनराजिषु ॥ ५५ ॥

śayyāsanāṭana-sthāna

vārtā-krīḍāśanādikam

mithunī-bhūya viśrabdhau

ceratur vana-rājiṣu

Translation

Naively trusting in the future, they carried out their acts of resting, sitting, walking, standing, conversing, playing, eating and so forth as a loving couple among the trees of the forest.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

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.

Do Not Naively Trust the Future

1
The couple lived together lovingly among the trees of the forest.
2
They shared ordinary activities such as resting, walking, conversing, playing and eating.
3
Throughout these activities, they naively trusted in the future. Their comfortable routine carried an unexamined sense of security.

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

Chapter 7: Lord Kṛṣṇa Instructs Uddhava

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

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. From the fire he had learned how to devour all things without becoming dirtied and how to destroy all the inauspicious desires of those who make offerings to him.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 11.7