1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by canto and chapter
Canto

Canto 12 · The Age of Deterioration · 13 chapters

12345678910111213

Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
12.3.3012.3.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.3.31

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

तस्मात् क्षुद्रद‍ृशो मर्त्या: क्षुद्रभाग्या महाशना: ।

कामिनो वित्तहीनाश्च स्वैरिण्यश्च स्त्रियोऽसती: ॥ ३१ ॥

tasmāt kṣudra-dṛśo martyāḥ

kṣudra-bhāgyā mahāśanāḥ

kāmino vitta-hīnāś ca

svairiṇyaś ca striyo ’satīḥ

Translation

Because of the bad qualities of the Age of Kali, human beings will become shortsighted, unfortunate, gluttonous, lustful and poverty-stricken. The women, becoming unchaste, will freely wander from one man to the next.

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.

Bodily Freedom Can Become Slavery to Lust

  1. 1

    The bad qualities of Kali lead human beings toward shortsightedness, misfortune, excessive eating, lust and poverty.

  2. 2

    The purport describes identifying the self with the body and seeking freedom through bodily indulgence as ignorance and slavery to lust.

  3. 3

    The verse predicts unchastity among women. The purport warns that sexual promiscuity can leave children growing up in psychologically unfavorable circumstances.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Age of Kali certain pseudointellectuals, seeking individual freedom, support sexual promiscuity.
  • When women are unchaste, many children are born out of wedlock as products of lust.
  • Symptoms of this are already manifest throughout the world.

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:

With the coming of each succeeding age, starting with Tretā, these religious qualities each diminish by one quarter. In Kali-yuga the legs of religion retain only one fourth of their power, and even that will be lost with the progress of the age.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 12.3
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tasmātdue to these qualities of the Age of Kali
  2. kṣudra-dṛśaḥshortsighted
  3. martyāḥhuman beings
  4. kṣudra-bhāgyāḥunfortunate
  5. mahā-aśanāḥexcessive in their eating habits
  6. kāminaḥfull of lust
  7. vitta-hīnāḥlacking wealth
  8. caand
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “lustful”, “lust”

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 12.3

    In this verse: “children”

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

When does what you call freedom become obedience to a bodily desire?

Practice

Pause before one unnecessary indulgence today and consider whether it expresses freedom or dependence on desire.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayBodily Freedom Can Become Slavery to LustThis 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 12.3.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 11 · 2 minAsk the BhāgavatamBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the Bhāgavatam's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnCantos & stories