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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
3.20.403.20.42

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.41

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
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

जगृहुस्तद्विसृष्टां तां जृम्भणाख्यां तनुं प्रभो: ।

निद्रामिन्द्रियविक्लेदो यया भूतेषु द‍ृश्यते ।

येनोच्छिष्टान्धर्षयन्ति तमुन्मादं प्रचक्षते ॥ ४१ ॥

jagṛhus tad-visṛṣṭāṁ tāṁ

jṛmbhaṇākhyāṁ tanuṁ prabhoḥ

nidrām indriya-vikledo

yayā bhūteṣu dṛśyate

yenocchiṣṭān dharṣayanti

tam unmādaṁ pracakṣate

Translation

The ghosts and hobgoblins took possession of the body thrown off in the form of yawning by Brahmā, the creator of the living entities. This is also known as the sleep which causes drooling. The hobgoblins and ghosts attack men who are impure, and their attack is spoken of as insanity.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Keep the Body Clean

  1. 1

    Ghosts and hobgoblins took possession of the body Brahmā gave up in the form of yawning.

  2. 2

    The translation connects this form with sleep that causes drooling.

  3. 3

    The purport describes an unclean state as an opportunity for ghosts to attack, linking such attacks with insanity. This is the text’s account, not a medical diagnosis.

Key points from the purport
  • The disease of insanity or being haunted by ghosts takes place in an unclean state of existence.
  • Here it is clearly stated that when a man is fast asleep and saliva flows from his mouth and he remains unclean, ghosts then take advantage of his unclean state and haunt his body.
  • In other words, those who drool while sleeping are considered unclean and are subject to be haunted by ghosts or to go insane.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jagṛhuḥtook possession
  2. tat-visṛṣṭāmthrown off by him
  3. tāmthat
  4. jṛmbhaṇa-ākhyāmknown as yawning
  5. tanumthe body
  6. prabhoḥof Lord Brahmā
  7. nidrāmsleep
  8. indriya-vikledaḥdrooling
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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

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

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

    In this verse: “gave up”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How attentive am I to keeping my body clean?

Practice

Take a moment today to wash and attend to your bodily cleanliness.

Live this todayKeep the Body CleanThis 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 3.20.41? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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