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Study a Verse

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 8: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Prayers to Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi

12.8.24 12.8.26-27

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 12.8.25

Ūti· What drives us to act

Who is speaking and story frame

Speaking:Sūta Gosvāmīsince 12.8.6inside 1 frame: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya

सन्दधेऽस्त्रं स्वधनुषि काम: पञ्चमुखं तदा ।

मधुर्मनो रजस्तोक इन्द्रभृत्या व्यकम्पयन् ॥ २५ ॥

sandadhe ’straṁ sva-dhanuṣi

kāmaḥ pañca-mukhaṁ tadā

madhur mano rajas-toka

indra-bhṛtyā vyakampayan

Translation

While the son of passion [greed personified], spring and the other servants of Indra all tried to agitate Mārkaṇḍeya’s mind, Cupid drew his five-headed arrow and fixed it upon his bow.

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.

A Coordinated Attempt to Agitate the Mind

1
Greed personified is described as the son of passion.
2
Spring, greed and the other servants of Indra all tried to agitate Mārkaṇḍeya’s mind.
3
Meanwhile, Cupid drew his five-headed arrow and fixed it upon his bow.

How it feels

Inquiry → Reverence. The transmission of sacred knowledge continues beyond the king's life.

Chapters 7–8 of Canto 12: The Vedic corpus and Mārkaṇḍeya's devotion. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 8: Mārkaṇḍeya’s Prayers to Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

In the seventh manvantara, Lord Indra sent Kāmadeva (Cupid) and his associates to interrupt the sage’s austerities. But Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi defeated them by the potency generated from his penance.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in chapter 12.8