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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 21: Conversation Between Manu and Kardama
3.21.163.21.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.21.17

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The great sage Kardamasince 3.21.13inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

लोकांश्च लोकानुगतान् पशूंश्च

हित्वा श्रितास्ते चरणातपत्रम् ।

परस्परं त्वद्गुणवादसीधु-

पीयूषनिर्यापितदेहधर्मा: ॥ १७ ॥

lokāṁś ca lokānugatān paśūṁś ca

hitvā śritās te caraṇātapatram

parasparaṁ tvad-guṇa-vāda-sīdhu-

pīyūṣa-niryāpita-deha-dharmāḥ

Translation

However, persons who have given up stereotyped worldly affairs and the beastly followers of these affairs, and who have taken shelter of the umbrella of Your lotus feet by drinking the intoxicating nectar of Your qualities and activities in discussions with one another, can be freed from the primary necessities of the material body.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Take Shelter Through Hearing and Chanting

  1. 1

    The Lord’s lotus feet are like an umbrella against repeated birth and death. Devotional service brings one beyond the stereotyped activities of material life.

  2. 2

    The repetition of birth and death, called saṁsāra, is compared to a forest fire. Through the spiritual master’s mercy, the rains of Kṛṣṇa consciousness can extinguish this fire.

  3. 3

    Taking shelter means serving the Lord by chanting and hearing about His qualities and activities. Drinking this nectar helps one forget the intoxication of material existence.

Key points from the purport
  • The principles of animal life — eating, sleeping, mating and defending — are actually necessities of the body, but those who engage in transcendental Kṛṣṇa consciousness, giving up all the stereotyped activities of this material world, are freed from social conventions.
  • In order to find freedom from the stereotyped conditional life of material existence, one has to take shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, not in the manner in which the impersonalists indulge, but in devotional service, chanting and hearing of the activities of the Lord.
  • Only by drinking the nectar of chanting and hearing the pastimes of the Lord can one forget the intoxication 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 21: Conversation Between Manu and Kardama

Kardama performs penance, receives the Lord’s blessings, and welcomes Manu, who travels with his wife and daughter.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.21
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. lokānworldly affairs
  2. caand
  3. loka-anugatānthe followers of worldly affairs
  4. paśūnbeastly
  5. caand
  6. hitvāhaving given up
  7. śritāḥtaken shelter
  8. teYour
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.21

    In this verse: “material”

  • Kīrtana · Hearing and chanting

    Remembering the Lord through sacred sound. · Theme in SB 3.21

    In this verse: “chanting”, “hearing”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.21

    In this verse: “shelter”

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

How can I make more room for hearing and discussing the Lord’s qualities?

Practice

Share one quality or activity of the Lord from this passage with someone today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayTake Shelter Through Hearing and ChantingThis 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 3.21.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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