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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
3.20.313.20.33

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.32

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 3.20.26inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

अहो रूपमहो धैर्यमहो अस्या नवं वय: ।

मध्ये कामयमानानामकामेव विसर्पति ॥ ३२ ॥

aho rūpam aho dhairyam

aho asyā navaṁ vayaḥ

madhye kāmayamānānām

akāmeva visarpati

Translation

The demons praised her: Oh, what a beauty! What rare self-control! What a budding youth! In the midst of us all, who are passionately longing for her, she is moving about like one absolutely free from passion.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Notice Desire Behind Words of Praise

  1. 1

    The demons praised the girl's beauty and budding youth. Their words revealed how strongly her appearance held their attention.

  2. 2

    They also praised what seemed to them to be rare self-control. She appeared to move among them as one free from passion.

  3. 3

    The demons themselves were passionately longing for her. The verse contrasts their desire with her apparent freedom from it.

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. ahooh
  2. rūpamwhat beauty
  3. ahooh
  4. dhairyamwhat self-control
  5. ahooh
  6. asyāḥher
  7. navambudding
  8. vayaḥyouth
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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 3.20

    In this verse: “longing”

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

When I praise someone's appearance, what desires may be shaping my words?

Practice

Pause once today before praising an appearance, and quietly notice your motive.

Live this todayNotice Desire Behind Words of PraiseThis 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 3.20.32? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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