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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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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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 12 · Chapter 3: The Bhūmi-gītā

12.3.27 12.3.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.3.28

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 12.3.18inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

यदा कर्मसु काम्येषु भक्तिर्यशसि देहिनाम् ।

तदा त्रेता रजोवृत्तिरिति जानीहि बुद्धिमन् ॥ २८ ॥

yadā karmasu kāmyeṣu

bhaktir yaśasi dehinām

tadā tretā rajo-vṛttir

iti jānīhi buddhiman

Translation

O most intelligent one, when the conditioned souls are devoted to their duties but have ulterior motives and seek personal prestige, you should understand such a situation to be the age of Tretā, in which the functions of passion are prominent.

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.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Passion Seeks Prestige Through Duty

1
In Tretā, conditioned souls are devoted to performing their duties.
2
Their performance of duty includes ulterior motives and a desire for personal prestige.
3
Such a situation shows the prominence of the mode of passion.

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

Chapter 3: The Bhūmi-gītā

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

But if somehow or other the Supreme Personality of Godhead becomes manifest within the hearts of the conditioned souls in Kali-yuga, then all faults of place, time and personality inherent in the age will be destroyed. Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, but it possesses one great quality: simply by the chanting of the name of Kṛṣṇa, one can be delivered from material association and attain the Absolute Truth.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.3

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

yadāwhen
karmasuin duties
kāmyeṣubased on selfish desire
bhaktiḥdevotion
yaśasiin honor
dehināmof the embodied souls
tadāthen
tretāthe age of Tretā

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
Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct
Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 12.3
In this verse: “duties”, “duty”
Jñāna · Spiritual insight
Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 12.3
In this verse: “understand”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When you fulfill a duty, how much are you hoping to receive praise?

Practice

Before one duty today, identify any desire for recognition, then complete the task without seeking praise.

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPassion Seeks Prestige Through DutyThis 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 12.3.28? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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