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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 14: Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
3.14.203.14.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.21

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

न वयं प्रभवस्तां त्वामनुकर्तुं गृहेश्वरि ।

अप्यायुषा वा कार्त्स्‍न्येन ये चान्ये गुणगृध्नव: ॥ २१ ॥

na vayaṁ prabhavas tāṁ tvām

anukartuṁ gṛheśvari

apy āyuṣā vā kārtsnyena

ye cānye guṇa-gṛdhnavaḥ

Translation

O queen of the home, we are not able to act like you, nor could we repay you for what you have done, even if we worked for our entire life or even after death. To repay you is not possible, even for those who are admirers of personal qualities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Appreciating a Wife’s Support

  1. 1

    Kaśyapa’s extraordinary praise of his wife is spoken in a joking manner. Yet it also acknowledges the benefits a husband receives from his wife.

  2. 2

    The purport describes household life as safer than renunciation followed by renewed pursuit of sexual pleasure. Merely leaving home does not remove sexual desire.

  3. 3

    Even a husband who appreciates his wife’s good qualities cannot fully repay her. Kaśyapa says that a whole lifetime of effort would not settle this debt.

Key points from the purport
  • The man in the renounced order of life has no wife and may be driven by sex desire to seek another woman or another’s wife and thus go to hell.
  • Therefore husbands as a class cannot repay their debt to women either in this life or in the next.
  • Not all husbands are as able to appreciate the good qualities of their wives, but even though one is able to appreciate these qualities, it is still not possible to repay the debt to the wife.

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. nanever
  2. vayamwe
  3. prabhavaḥare able
  4. tāmthat
  5. tvāmunto you
  6. anukartumdo the same
  7. gṛha-īśvariO queen of the home
  8. apiin spite of
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.14

    In this verse: “death”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

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

    In this verse: “safer”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “household”

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 sincerely appreciate the support I receive, rather than take it for granted?

Practice

Thank your spouse, if married, for one specific good quality or act of support.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAppreciating a Wife’s SupportThis 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 3.14.21? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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