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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 3: The Bhūmi-gītā
12.3.2912.3.31

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.3.30

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 मायानृतं तन्द्रा निद्रा हिंसा विषादनम् ।

शोकमोहौ भयं दैन्यं स कलिस्तामस: स्मृत: ॥ ३० ॥

yadā māyānṛtaṁ tandrā

nidrā hiṁsā viṣādanam

śoka-mohau bhayaṁ dainyaṁ

sa kalis tāmasaḥ smṛtaḥ

Translation

When there is a predominance of cheating, lying, sloth, sleepiness, violence, depression, lamentation, bewilderment, fear and poverty, that age is Kali, the age of the mode of ignorance.

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.

Ignorance Turns Attention Away From Self-Realization

  1. 1

    Kali is the age in which ignorance predominates, with cheating, lying, sloth, sleepiness and violence.

  2. 2

    The translation also describes depression, lamentation, bewilderment, fear and poverty as prominent features of this age.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that people become almost exclusively devoted to gross materialism, with hardly any affinity for self-realization.

Key points from the purport
  • In Kali-yuga, people are almost exclusively devoted to gross materialism, with hardly any affinity for self-realization.

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

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:

The mixed modes of passion and ignorance are predominant during Dvāpara-yuga, and in the Age of Kali the mode of ignorance is predominant. Atheism, the smallness and inferiority of all things, and devotion to the genitals and belly are very much evident in the Age of Kali.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yadāwhen
  2. māyādeceit
  3. anṛtamfalse speech
  4. tandrāsloth
  5. nidrāsleep and intoxication
  6. hiṁsāviolence
  7. viṣādanamdepression
  8. śokalamentation
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: “fear”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 12.3

    In this verse: “lamentation”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 12.3

    In this verse: “materialism”

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 much room does your daily routine leave for self-realization?

Practice

Use five minutes normally spent on material distractions for reading about self-realization.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayIgnorance Turns Attention Away From Self-RealizationThis 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 12.3.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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