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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 23: Devahūti’s Lamentation
3.23.193.23.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.23.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Maitreya Ṛṣisince 3.23.12inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

हंसपारावतव्रातैस्तत्र तत्र निकूजितम् ।

कृत्रिमान् मन्यमानै: स्वानधिरुह्याधिरुह्य च ॥ २० ॥

haṁsa-pārāvata-vrātais

tatra tatra nikūjitam

kṛtrimān manyamānaiḥ svān

adhiruhyādhiruhya ca

Translation

Here and there in that palace were multitudes of live swans and pigeons, as well as artificial swans and pigeons so lifelike that the real swans rose above them again and again, thinking them live birds like themselves. Thus the palace vibrated with the sounds of these birds.

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.

Lifelike Art Among Living Birds

  1. 1

    Multitudes of living swans and pigeons were present throughout the palace.

  2. 2

    Artificial swans and pigeons were so lifelike that real swans took them for birds of their own kind.

  3. 3

    The swans repeatedly rose above the artificial birds. The palace resounded with the sounds of its living birds.

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 23: Devahūti’s Lamentation

Devahūti serves Kardama, shares his extraordinary household life, and asks who will comfort her after his departure.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.23
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. haṁsaof swans
  2. pārāvataof pigeons
  3. vrātaiḥwith multitudes
  4. tatra tatrahere and there
  5. nikūjitamvibrated
  6. kṛtrimānartificial
  7. manyamānaiḥthinking
  8. svānbelonging to their own kind
  9. adhiruhya adhiruhyarising repeatedly
  10. caand
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 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

How do the birds’ movement and sounds make this palace description more vivid for me?

Practice

Read the verse once more, picturing both the birds’ movements and the sounds filling the palace.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayLifelike Art Among Living BirdsThis 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 3.23.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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