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 11.7.72

Who is speaking and story frame

तं लब्ध्वा लुब्धक: क्रूर: कपोतं गृहमेधिनम् ।

कपोतकान् कपोतीं च सिद्धार्थ: प्रययौ गृहम् ॥ ७२ ॥

taṁ labdhvā lubdhakaḥ krūraḥ

kapotaṁ gṛha-medhinam

kapotakān kapotīṁ ca

siddhārthaḥ prayayau gṛham

Translation

The cruel hunter, having fulfilled his desire by capturing the head pigeon, his wife and all of their children, set off for his own home.

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.

The Hunter Captures the Entire Family

  1. 1

    The cruel hunter captured the father pigeon, his wife and all their children.

  2. 2

    With the whole family captured, the hunter had fulfilled his desire.

  3. 3

    He then set off for his own home, taking the captured family with him.

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 pigeon he had learned how too much affection and excessive attachment are not good for one. This human body is the open door to liberation, but if one becomes attached to family life like the pigeon, one is compared to a person who has climbed up to a high place just to fall down again.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 11.7
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tamhim
  2. labdhvātaking
  3. lubdhakaḥthe hunter
  4. krūraḥcruel
  5. kapotamthe pigeon
  6. gṛha-medhinamthe materialistic householder
  7. kapotakānthe pigeon children
  8. kapotīmthe pigeon 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”, “father”

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 this outcome show about the family’s inability to secure its own happiness?

Practice

Pause over the story’s ending and reflect on how completely the family’s situation changed.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Hunter Captures the Entire FamilyThis 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 11.7.72? Get an answer from the verses themselves.