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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.
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Canto 12 · Chapter 3: The Bhūmi-gītā
12.2.4412.3.2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.3.1

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.3.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्री शुक उवाच:

द‍ृष्ट्वात्मनि जये व्यग्रान् नृपान् हसति भूरियम् ।

अहो मा विजिगीषन्ति मृत्यो: क्रीडनका नृपा: ॥ १ ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

dṛṣṭvātmani jaye vyagrān

nṛpān hasati bhūr iyam

aho mā vijigīṣanti

mṛtyoḥ krīḍanakā nṛpāḥ

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Seeing the kings of this earth busy trying to conquer her, the earth herself laughed. She said: “Just see how these kings, who are actually playthings in the hands of death, are desiring to conquer me.

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.

Conquerors Remain in Death’s Hands

  1. 1

    Seeing kings busy trying to conquer her, the earth herself laughed.

  2. 2

    These kings desire to conquer the earth, yet they are playthings in the hands of death.

  3. 3

    Their efforts to rule do not free them from death’s control.

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 3: The Bhūmi-gītā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Great kings, who are actually just playthings of death, desire to subdue their six internal enemies — the five senses and the mind — and afterward they imagine they will go on to conquer the earth and all its oceans. Seeing their false hopes, the earth simply laughs, for eventually they all must leave this planet and go elsewhere, as have all the great kings and monarchs of the past.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. dṛṣṭvāobserving
  3. ātmaniof herself
  4. jayein conquest
  5. vyagrānbusily engaged
  6. nṛpānthe kings
  7. hasatishe laughs
  8. bhūḥthe earth
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 12.3

    In this verse: “death”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 12.3

    In this verse: “kings”

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 remembering death change my desire to control things?

Practice

Pause over one plan today and remember that even powerful rulers remain subject to death.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayConquerors Remain in Death’s HandsThis 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 12.3.1? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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