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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 11.7.67

Who is speaking and story frame

कपोत: स्वात्मजान् बद्धानात्मनोऽप्यधिकान् प्रियान् ।

भार्यां चात्मसमां दीनो विललापातिदु:खित: ॥ ६७ ॥

kapotaḥ svātmajān baddhān

ātmano ’py adhikān priyān

bhāryāṁ cātma-samāṁ dīno

vilalāpāti-duḥkhitaḥ

Translation

Seeing his own children, who were more dear to him than life itself, fatally bound in the hunter’s net along with his dearmost wife, whom he considered equal in every way to himself, the poor male pigeon began to lament wretchedly.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Deep Attachment Brings Painful Lamentation

  1. 1

    The male pigeon held his children more dear than his own life.

  2. 2

    He considered his dearmost wife equal to himself in every way.

  3. 3

    Seeing them all fatally bound in the hunter’s net, he began to lament wretchedly.

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 sun he had learned how to avoid entanglement even while coming into contact with sense objects, and he had also learned about the two different modes of perception based on seeing the real form of the soul and seeing false designative coverings. From the pigeon he had learned how too much affection and excessive attachment are not good for one.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kapotaḥthe male pigeon
  2. sva-ātma-jānhis own children
  3. baddhānbound up
  4. ātmanaḥthan himself
  5. apieven
  6. adhikānmore
  7. priyāndear
  8. bhāryāmhis wife
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 11.7

    In this verse: “children”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 11.7

    In this verse: “lament”

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 this scene reveal the vulnerability of placing all my happiness in loved ones?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute reflecting on the pigeon’s grief and the uncertainty of family happiness.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDeep Attachment Brings Painful LamentationThis 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 11.7.67? Get an answer from the verses themselves.