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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 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 ›
Canto 12 · Chapter 2: The Symptoms of Kali-yuga
12.2.812.2.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.2.9

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.2.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

शाकमूलामिषक्षौद्रफलपुष्पाष्टिभोजना: ।

अनावृष्टय‍ा विनङ्‌क्ष्यन्ति दुर्भिक्षकरपीडिता: ॥ ९ ॥

śāka-mūlāmiṣa-kṣaudra-

phala-puṣpāṣṭi-bhojanāḥ

anāvṛṣṭyā vinaṅkṣyanti

durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ

Translation

Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

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.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Society Depends on the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Famine and excessive taxes will torment people, while drought will bring them to ruin.

  2. 2

    Like a leaf disconnected from a tree, human society disconnected from the Supreme Lord withers and disintegrates in violence and chaos.

  3. 3

    Computers and rockets cannot remove our dependence on the Supreme Lord. Without the rain He sends, we shall starve.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam authoritatively describes the future of our planet.
  • Just as a leaf disconnected from a plant or tree dries up, withers and disintegrates, when human society is disconnected from the Supreme Lord it withers up and disintegrates in violence and chaos.
  • Despite our computers and rockets, if the Supreme Lord does not send rain we shall all starve.

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

Quoted in the purport ofSB 5.13.8

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.2.9): ācchinna-dāra-draviṇā yāsyanti giri-kānanam.

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

Civilizational dread → Dispassion. Social and cosmic impermanence expose the limits of worldly plans.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 12: The deterioration of Kali and universal dissolution. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 2: The Symptoms of Kali-yuga

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The kings become just like highway bandits, the people in general become dedicated to low occupations, and all the social classes become just like śūdras. All cows become like goats, all spiritual hermitages become like materialistic homes, and family ties extend no further than the immediate relationship of marriage.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.2
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śākaleaves
  2. mūlaroots
  3. āmiṣameat
  4. kṣaudrawild honey
  5. phalafruits
  6. puṣpaflowers
  7. aṣṭiand seeds
  8. bhojanāḥeating
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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do I recognize my dependence on the Supreme Lord for life's necessities?

Practice

Before eating today, pause to acknowledge your dependence on the Supreme Lord for food and rain.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySociety Depends on the Supreme LordThis 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 12.2.9? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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