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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
3.14.193.14.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.20

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

यामाश्रित्येन्द्रियारातीन्दुर्जयानितराश्रमै: ।

वयं जयेम हेलाभिर्दस्यून्दुर्गपतिर्यथा ॥ २० ॥

yām āśrityendriyārātīn

durjayān itarāśramaiḥ

vayaṁ jayema helābhir

dasyūn durga-patir yathā

Translation

As a fort commander very easily conquers invading plunderers, by taking shelter of a wife one can conquer the senses, which are unconquerable in the other social orders.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Regulated Household Life Helps Conquer the Senses

  1. 1

    The senses are compared to plunderers attacking the body's fort. A faithful wife helps protect the householder from their attacks.

  2. 2

    Those outside household life require strict spiritual training and obedience to resist sexual desire. Merely assuming the position of a brahmacārī is not enough.

  3. 3

    Sex life causes material bondage and is permitted only within the gṛhastha-āśrama. Householders are responsible for producing well-trained brahmacārīs, vānaprasthas and sannyāsīs.

Key points from the purport
  • Of the four orders of human society — the student, or brahmacārī order, the householder, or gṛhastha order, the retired, or vānaprastha order, and the renounced, or sannyāsī order — the householder is on the safe side.
  • The wife is supposed to be the commander of the fort, and therefore whenever there is an attack on the body by the senses, it is the wife who protects the body from being smashed.
  • Without a fixed wife, a man becomes a debauchee of the first order and is a nuisance in society — unless he is a trained brahmacārī, vānaprastha or sannyāsī.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yāmwhom
  2. āśrityataking shelter of
  3. indriyasenses
  4. arātīnenemies
  5. durjayāndifficult to conquer
  6. itaraother than the householders
  7. āśramaiḥby orders of society
  8. vayamwe
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “householder”, “material”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “protect”

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

What training and responsibilities help me keep my senses under control?

Practice

Choose one concrete limit on sense enjoyment today and keep it as an exercise in self-control.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRegulated Household Life Helps Conquer the SensesThis 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.

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