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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.
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Canto 3 · Chapter 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
3.14.183.14.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.19

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.14.5inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

यामाहुरात्मनो ह्यर्धं श्रेयस्कामस्य मानिनि ।

यस्यां स्वधुरमध्यस्य पुमांश्चरति विज्वर: ॥ १९ ॥

yām āhur ātmano hy ardhaṁ

śreyas-kāmasya mānini

yasyāṁ sva-dhuram adhyasya

pumāṁś carati vijvaraḥ

Translation

O respectful one, a wife is so helpful that she is called the better half of a man’s body because of her sharing in all auspicious activities. A man can move without anxiety entrusting all responsibilities to his wife.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Marriage Is Cooperation for Spiritual Advancement

  1. 1

    A wife is called the better half because she shares her husband's auspicious duties. These include pañca-yajña, five sacrifices for relief from unavoidable sinful reactions.

  2. 2

    When a wife is treated merely as a source of sense gratification, personal beauty becomes the main consideration. Disappointment in enjoyment then brings disruption.

  3. 3

    Marriage is a duty of mutual cooperation, guided by authoritative scriptures, for spiritual advancement. Its foundation should not be personal enjoyment.

Key points from the purport
  • By the Vedic injunction, the wife is accepted as the better half of a man’s body because she is supposed to be responsible for discharging half of the duties of the husband.
  • When a man becomes qualitatively like the cats and dogs, he forgets his duties in cultivating spiritual values, and thus he accepts his wife as a sense gratificatory agency.
  • But when husband and wife aim at spiritual advancement by mutual cooperation, there is no consideration of personal beauty or the disruption of so-called love.

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

Threat and anger → Rescue and wonder. Divine protection appears amid cosmic confrontation.

Chapters 13–19 of Canto 3: Varāha, Jaya and Vijaya, Hiraṇyākṣa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening

Diti desires sons, her husband performs a forbidden act, and their sons’ destruction by the Lord is foretold.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.14
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yāmthe wife who
  2. āhuḥis said
  3. ātmanaḥof the body
  4. hithus
  5. ardhamhalf
  6. śreyaḥwelfare
  7. kāmasyaof all desires
  8. māniniO respectful one
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “duty”, “duties”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “sense gratification”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “sinful”

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 value close relationships for shared spiritual responsibility or mainly for what I receive?

Practice

Take responsibility for one shared duty today without seeking personal praise or enjoyment.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMarriage Is Cooperation for Spiritual AdvancementThis 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 3.14.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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