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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.
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Canto 3 · Chapter 20: Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
3.20.473.20.49

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.20.48

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

येऽहीयन्तामुत: केशा अहयस्तेऽङ्ग जज्ञिरे ।

सर्पा: प्रसर्पत: क्रूरा नागा भोगोरुकन्धरा: ॥ ४८ ॥

ye ’hīyantāmutaḥ keśā

ahayas te ’ṅga jajñire

sarpāḥ prasarpataḥ krūrā

nāgā bhogoru-kandharāḥ

Translation

O dear Vidura, the hair that dropped from that body transformed into snakes, and even while the body crawled along with its hands and feet contracted, there sprang from it ferocious serpents and Nāgas with their hoods expanded.

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.

Snakes and Nāgas Emerge

  1. 1

    The hair that fell from the body transformed into snakes.

  2. 2

    The body crawled along with its hands and feet contracted.

  3. 3

    Ferocious serpents and Nāgas with expanded hoods sprang from that body.

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. yewhich
  2. ahīyantadropped out
  3. amutaḥfrom that
  4. keśāḥhairs
  5. ahayaḥsnakes
  6. tethey
  7. aṅgaO dear Vidura
  8. jajñiretook birth as
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

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 details help me distinguish the appearances described in this verse?

Practice

Make a two-line note: what arose from the fallen hair, and what sprang from the crawling body.

Live this todaySnakes and Nāgas EmergeThis 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 3.20.48? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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