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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 8: The Story of Piṅgalā

11.8.2 11.8.4

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 11.8.3

Mukti· Liberation

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:The saintly brāhmaṇasince 11.8.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitLord Kṛṣṇa → UddhavaThe avadhūta → King Yadu

शयीताहानि भूरीणि निराहारोऽनुपक्रम: ।

यदि नोपनयेद् ग्रासो महाहिरिव दिष्टभुक् ॥ ३ ॥

śayītāhāni bhūrīṇi

nirāhāro ’nupakramaḥ

yadi nopanayed grāso

mahāhir iva diṣṭa-bhuk

Translation

If at any time food does not come, then a saintly person should fast for many days without making endeavor. He should understand that by God’s arrangement he must fast. Thus, following the example of the python, he should remain peaceful and patient.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remain Patient Through Material Hardship

1
The saintly person follows the python by remaining peaceful and patient when food does not come. He accepts this circumstance as God's arrangement.
2
The purport teaches a devotee to see hardship as a consequence of past sinful activity and as God's mercy in making him humble.
3
One should accept the Personality of Godhead as the supreme controller rather than abandon faith because of material inconvenience. A devotee who accepts hardship as Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy becomes eligible for supreme liberation.

Key points from the purport

If by God’s arrangement one is forced to suffer material hardship, then one should think, “Due to my past sinful activity I am now being punished.
The word śayīta means one should remain peaceful and patient without mental agitation.
A devotee of the Lord always accepts material hardship as the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa; thus he becomes eligible for supreme liberation.

The purport's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of SB 11.8.3 quotesSB 10.14.8

Tat te ’nukampāṁ su-samīkṣamāṇo bhuñjāna evātma-kṛtaṁ vipākam. A devotee of the Lord always accepts material hardship as the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa; thus he becomes eligible for supreme liberation.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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 8: The Story of Piṅgalā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Even if no food is available, the person who wants to engage fully in the Lord’s worship should not beg; rather, he should understand this to be the arrangement of providence, thinking, “Whatever enjoyment is destined for me will automatically come, and thus I should not uselessly waste the remaining duration of my life in worrying about such things.”

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 11.8

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

śayītahe should remain peacefully
ahānidays
bhūrīṇifor many
nirāhāraḥfasting
anupakramaḥwithout endeavor
yadiif
na upanayetdoes not come
grāsaḥfood

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
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 11.8
In this verse: “understand”
Dainya · Humility
Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 11.8
In this verse: “humble”
Moha · Material attachment
The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 11.8
In this verse: “material”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could I meet an inconvenience with patience rather than a loss of faith?

Practice

When a small inconvenience arises today, pause and remember Lord Kṛṣṇa's mercy before responding.

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 10.14.8

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 11.8's connections

Live this todayRemain Patient Through Material HardshipThis 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 11.8.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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