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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
3.14.243.14.26

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.25

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
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

श्मशानचक्रानिलधूलिधूम्र-

विकीर्णविद्योतजटाकलाप: ।

भस्मावगुण्ठामलरुक्‍मदेहो

देवस्त्रिभि: पश्यति देवरस्ते ॥ २५ ॥

śmaśāna-cakrānila-dhūli-dhūmra-

vikīrṇa-vidyota-jaṭā-kalāpaḥ

bhasmāvaguṇṭhāmala-rukma-deho

devas tribhiḥ paśyati devaras te

Translation

Lord Śiva’s body is reddish, and he is unstained, but he is covered with ashes. His hair is dusty from the whirlwind dust of the burning crematorium. He is the younger brother of your husband, and he sees with his three eyes.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Śiva’s Power and Unstained Renunciation

  1. 1

    Lord Śiva is not an ordinary living entity, yet he is not on an equal level with Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is more powerful than even Brahmā.

  2. 2

    Although immensely powerful, Śiva does not live pompously or seek material possessions. Covered with crematorium ashes and dust, he remains unstained by material contamination.

  3. 3

    Śiva can see past, present and future, and his three eyes are compared to the sun, moon and fire. Kaśyapa warns Diti that privacy would not hide their disregard of the forbidden time.

Key points from the purport
  • Kaśyapa took him as his younger brother because the youngest sister of Diti (Kaśyapa’s wife) was married to Lord Śiva.
  • Kaśyapa warned his wife that because Lord Śiva would see their sex indulgence, the time was not appropriate.
  • Diti might argue that they would enjoy sex life in a private place, but Kaśyapa reminded her that Lord Śiva has three eyes, called the sun, moon and fire, and one cannot escape his vigilance any more than one can escape Viṣṇu.

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. śmaśānaburning crematorium
  2. cakra-anilawhirlwind
  3. dhūlidust
  4. dhūmrasmoky
  5. vikīrṇa-vidyotathus smeared over beauty
  6. jaṭā-kalāpaḥbunches of matted hair
  7. bhasmaashes
  8. avaguṇṭhacovered by
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

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

    In this verse: “contamination”

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

Would I make the same choice if I remembered that privacy does not remove responsibility?

Practice

In one private decision today, choose what is proper rather than what you think will go unnoticed.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayŚiva’s Power and Unstained RenunciationThis 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 3.14.25? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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