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

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Canto 3 · The Status Quo · 33 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 3 · Chapter 1: Questions by Vidura
3.1.303.1.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.1.31

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Vidurasince 3.1.11inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्षेमं स कच्चिद्युयुधान आस्ते

य: फाल्गुनाल्लब्धधनूरहस्य: ।

लेभेऽञ्जसाधोक्षजसेवयैव

गतिं तदीयां यतिभिर्दुरापाम् ॥ ३१ ॥

kṣemaṁ sa kaccid yuyudhāna āste

yaḥ phālgunāl labdha-dhanū-rahasyaḥ

lebhe ’ñjasādhokṣaja-sevayaiva

gatiṁ tadīyāṁ yatibhir durāpām

Translation

O Uddhava, does Yuyudhāna fare well? He learned the intricacies of the military art from Arjuna and attained the transcendental destination which is very difficult to reach even for great renouncers.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Grants the Highest Association

  1. 1

    The destination of transcendence is to become a personal associate of the Personality of Godhead. He is known as adhokṣaja, beyond the reach of the senses.

  2. 2

    The Lord’s personal happiness is beyond Brahman happiness. His eternal bliss comes from His own hlādinī potency.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s internal potency is easily realized by devotees through devotional service, though great yogīs and jñānīs cannot enter it through their disciplines alone. Yuyudhāna achieved this spiritual success while also becoming expert in military science.

Key points from the purport
  • The empiric philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead.
  • But Parabrahman, the Personality of Godhead, enjoys eternally a bliss of His own potency, which is called the hlādinī potency.
  • The empiric philosopher who studies Brahman by negation of the external features has not yet learned the quality of the hlādinī potency of Brahman.

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

Separation → Devotional remembrance. Uddhava's tears and silence make remembrance emotionally immediate.

Chapters 1–4 of Canto 3: Vidura meets Uddhava and hears of Kṛṣṇa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: Questions by Vidura

Vidura leaves home, travels to holy places, and asks Uddhava about Kṛṣṇa’s associates and his relatives.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kṣemamall good
  2. saḥhe
  3. kaccitwhether
  4. yuyudhānaḥSātyaki
  5. āsteis there
  6. yaḥone who
  7. phālgunātfrom Arjuna
  8. labdhahas achieved
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.1

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.1

    In this verse: “renouncers”

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

Do I see devotional service and association with the Lord as the goal of spiritual life?

Practice

Before one duty today, pause and consciously offer your effort in service to the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Grants the Highest AssociationThis 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 3.1.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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