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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 15: Description of the Kingdom of God
3.15.203.15.22

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.15.21

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 3.15.12inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Brahmā → the demigods

श्री रूपिणी क्‍वणयती चरणारविन्दं

लीलाम्बुजेन हरिसद्मनि मुक्तदोषा ।

संलक्ष्यते स्फटिककुड्य उपेतहेम्नि

सम्मार्जतीव यदनुग्रहणेऽन्ययत्न: ॥ २१ ॥

śrī rūpiṇī kvaṇayatī caraṇāravindaṁ

līlāmbujena hari-sadmani mukta-doṣā

saṁlakṣyate sphaṭika-kuḍya upeta-hemni

sammārjatīva yad-anugrahaṇe ’nya-yatnaḥ

Translation

The ladies in the Vaikuṇṭha planets are as beautiful as the goddess of fortune herself. Such transcendentally beautiful ladies, their hands playing with lotuses and their leg bangles tinkling, are sometimes seen sweeping the marble walls, which are bedecked at intervals with golden borders, in order to receive the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Eagerly for the Lord’s Grace

  1. 1

    The wives of the Lord’s devotees in Vaikuṇṭha also engage in serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their beauty and fortune do not lessen their eagerness to serve.

  2. 2

    There is hardly any dust on the marble walls, yet the ladies still clean them to satisfy the Lord. They serve because they are eager to receive His grace.

  3. 3

    In Vaikuṇṭha, Lakṣmījī is fixed in the Lord’s service. Even the goddess of fortune cannot be happy without His grace.

Key points from the purport
  • These millions and trillions of goddesses of fortune who reside in the Vaikuṇṭha planets are not exactly consorts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but are the wives of the devotees of the Lord and also engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Thus there is no need to sweep the stone in Vaikuṇṭha, for there is hardly any dust on it, but still, in order to satisfy the Lord, the ladies there always engage in dusting the marble walls.
  • In spite of her being the goddess of fortune, she cannot be happy without the grace of the Lord.

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 15: Description of the Kingdom of God

Brahmā describes Vaikuṇṭha, where the Kumāras curse two doorkeepers and then behold the Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.15
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. śrīLakṣmī, the goddess of fortune
  2. rūpiṇīassuming a beautiful form
  3. kvaṇayatītinkling
  4. caraṇa-aravindamlotus feet
  5. līlā-ambujenaplaying with a lotus flower
  6. hari-sadmanithe house of the Supreme Personality
  7. mukta-doṣāfreed from all faults
  8. saṁlakṣyatebecomes visible
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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 3.15

    In this verse: “grace”

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.15

    In this verse: “devotees”

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 seek happiness through fortune alone, or through the Lord’s grace and service?

Practice

Clean one small area today with the intention of satisfying the Lord rather than receiving praise.

5

The story around it

The stories this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayServe Eagerly for the Lord’s GraceThis 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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