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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
3.14.393.14.41

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.14.40

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The learned Kaśyapasince 3.14.38inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

प्राणिनां हन्यमानानां दीनानामकृतागसाम् ।

स्त्रीणां निगृह्यमाणानां कोपितेषु महात्मसु ॥ ४० ॥

prāṇināṁ hanyamānānāṁ

dīnānām akṛtāgasām

strīṇāṁ nigṛhyamāṇānāṁ

kopiteṣu mahātmasu

Translation

They will kill poor, faultless living entities, torture women and enrage the great souls.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Reject Cruelty and Respect Devotional Life

  1. 1

    Kaśyapa predicted that Diti’s sons would kill innocent living entities, torture women, and enrage great souls. The purport identifies these as demoniac activities.

  2. 2

    The purport condemns killing innocent animals to satisfy the tongue and harming women through unnecessary sexual indulgence. It warns against a society dominated by such indulgence.

  3. 3

    The great souls described here are engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When such cruelty becomes prominent, the Lord Himself or His bona fide representative may change the social order.

Key points from the purport
  • Demoniac activities are predominant when innocent, faultless living entities are killed, women are tortured, and the great souls engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are enraged.
  • In a demoniac society, innocent animals are killed to satisfy the tongue, and women are tortured by unnecessary sexual indulgence.
  • Where there are women and meat, there must be liquor and sex indulgence.

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. prāṇināmwhen the living entities
  2. hanyamānānāmbeing killed
  3. dīnānāmof the poor
  4. akṛta-āgasāmof the faultless
  5. strīṇāmof the women
  6. nigṛhyamāṇānāmbeing tortured
  7. kopiteṣubeing enraged
  8. mahātmasuwhen the great souls
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

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 my choices protect innocent beings and respect those engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

Choose a meal today that does not require killing innocent animals.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayReject Cruelty and Respect Devotional LifeThis 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 3.14.40? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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