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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 11.7.69

Who is speaking and story frame

अनुरूपानुकूला च यस्य मे पतिदेवता ।

शून्ये गृहे मां सन्त्यज्य पुत्रै: स्वर्याति साधुभि: ॥ ६९ ॥

anurūpānukūlā ca

yasya me pati-devatā

śūnye gṛhe māṁ santyajya

putraiḥ svar yāti sādhubhiḥ

Translation

My wife and I were an ideal match. She always faithfully obeyed me and in fact accepted me as her worshipable deity. But now, seeing her children lost and her home empty, she has left me behind and gone to heaven with our saintly children.

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.

Remembered Companionship Deepens the Pigeon’s Grief

  1. 1

    The pigeon remembered his wife as an ideal match who had always faithfully obeyed him.

  2. 2

    He recalled that she had accepted him as her worshipable deity.

  3. 3

    In his lament, he described her as leaving him behind and going to heaven with their saintly children.

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. anurūpāsuitable
  2. anukūlāfaithful
  3. caand
  4. yasyaof whom
  5. meof me
  6. pati-devatāshe who accepted her husband as a worshipable deity
  7. śūnyeempty
  8. gṛhein the home
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “worshipable”

  • 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

What does the pigeon’s lament show about the pain of losing cherished companionship?

Practice

Read the pigeon’s words slowly, noticing how his memories of companionship deepen his sense of separation.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRemembered Companionship Deepens the Pigeon’s GriefThis 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 11.7.69? Get an answer from the verses themselves.