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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 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
3.20.173.20.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.18

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.20.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

ससर्ज च्छाययाविद्यां पञ्चपर्वाणमग्रत: ।

तामिस्रमन्धतामिस्रं तमो मोहो महातम: ॥ १८ ॥

sasarja cchāyayāvidyāṁ

pañca-parvāṇam agrataḥ

tāmisram andha-tāmisraṁ

tamo moho mahā-tamaḥ

Translation

First of all, Brahmā created from his shadow the coverings of ignorance of the conditioned souls. They are five in number and are called tāmisra, andha-tāmisra, tamas, moha and mahā-moha.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ignorance Covers Our Identity as Servants

  1. 1

    Brahmā created five coverings of ignorance from his shadow. Tāmisra is anger or envy through which the soul forgets its position as the Lord’s eternal servant and seeks to enjoy like Him.

  2. 2

    Andha-tāmisra is the belief that death ends everything. It arises from tamas, ignorance of the spirit soul and identification of the self with the body.

  3. 3

    Moha is the illusion that “I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine,” which strengthens attachment and conflict. Mahā-moha is madness for material enjoyment.

Key points from the purport
  • The conditioned souls, or living entities who come to the material world to enjoy sense gratification, are covered in the beginning by five different conditions.
  • Thus they want to enjoy material life as far as possible during the existence of the body.
  • For such misguided living entities, sex life is the background of material existence.

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

Longing and service → Preparedness. Family devotion turns toward higher spiritual fulfillment.

Chapters 20–24 of Canto 3: Kardama, Devahūti, family and renunciation. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura

Questions about Manu lead to further accounts of Brahmā’s creation of demigods, demons, and other beings.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sasarjacreated
  2. chāyayāwith his shadow
  3. avidyāmignorance
  4. pañca-parvāṇamfive varieties
  5. agrataḥfirst of all
  6. tāmisramtāmisra
  7. andha-tāmisramandha-tāmisra
  8. tamaḥtamas
  9. mohaḥmoha
  10. mahā-tamaḥmahā-tamas, or mahā-moha.
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “attachment”, “illusion”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “death”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “spirit soul”

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

Which bodily attachment most distracts me from my identity as the Lord’s eternal servant?

Practice

When a possessive thought arises today, pause and remind yourself, “I am an eternal servant of the Supreme Lord.”

Live this todayIgnorance Covers Our Identity as ServantsThis 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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