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

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Canto 2 · The Cosmic Manifestation · 10 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 2 · Chapter 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions
2.10.37-402.10.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 2.10.41

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 2.10.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति तिस्र: सुरनृनारका: ।

तत्राप्येकैकशो राजन् भिद्यन्ते गतयस्त्रिधा ।

यदैकैकतरोऽन्याभ्यां स्वभाव उपहन्यते ॥ ४१ ॥

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti

tisraḥ sura-nṛ-nārakāḥ

tatrāpy ekaikaśo rājan

bhidyante gatayas tridhā

yadaikaikataro ’nyābhyāṁ

sva-bhāva upahanyate

Translation

According to the different modes of material nature — the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of darkness — there are different living creatures, who are known as demigods, human beings and hellish living entities. O King, even a particular mode of nature, being mixed with the other two, is divided into three, and thus each kind of living creature is influenced by the other modes and acquires its habits also.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Good Association Can Transform Our Habits

  1. 1

    Conditioned souls are generally influenced by passion, trying to lord it over material nature to fulfill their desires. Through association, they can also develop goodness or ignorance.

  2. 2

    Our habits are not fixed: good or bad association can change them. We need to become intelligent enough to distinguish between the two.

  3. 3

    The best association is service to the Lord’s devotees. Through pure devotees’ association, Śrīla Nārada Muni developed a taste for chanting and hearing the Lord’s glories, which are nondifferent from the Lord.

Key points from the purport
  • The living entities individually are being conducted by a particular mode of nature, but at the same time there is every chance of their being influenced by the other two.
  • Generally, all conditioned souls in the material encagement are influenced by the mode of passion because every one of them is trying to lord it over the material nature to fulfill his individual desire.
  • But in spite of the individual mode of passion, there is always the chance of being influenced by the other modes of nature by association.

Śrīla Prabhupāda'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

Inquiry → Conviction. Divine knowledge resolves fundamental cosmic uncertainty.

Chapters 8–10 of Canto 2: Parīkṣit questions; Brahmā receives revelation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions

Śukadeva outlines the Bhāgavatam’s subjects and describes creation through the Lord’s universal form.

Back to this verse in chapter 2.10
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sattvamthe mode of goodness
  2. rajaḥthe mode of passion
  3. tamaḥthe mode of darkness
  4. itithus
  5. tisraḥthe three
  6. surademigod
  7. nṛhuman being
  8. nārakāḥone who is suffering hellish conditions
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 2.10

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 2.10

    In this verse: “king”

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

Which association is helping me develop a taste for hearing the Lord’s glories?

Practice

Take one small opportunity today to help a devotee of the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 2.10's connections

Live this todayGood Association Can Transform Our HabitsThis 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 2.10.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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