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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 23: Devahūti’s Lamentation
3.23.443.23.46

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.23.45

Ūti· What drives us to act
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

तस्मिन् विमान उत्कृष्टां शय्यां रतिकरीं श्रिता ।

न चाबुध्यत तं कालं पत्यापीच्येन सङ्गता ॥ ४५ ॥

tasmin vimāna utkṛṣṭāṁ

śayyāṁ rati-karīṁ śritā

na cābudhyata taṁ kālaṁ

patyāpīcyena saṅgatā

Translation

In that aerial mansion, Devahūti, in the company of her handsome husband, situated on an excellent bed that increased sexual desires, could not realize how much time was passing.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sensual Enjoyment Can Hide Time’s Passing

  1. 1

    Devahūti was with her handsome husband in the aerial mansion, on a bed that increased sexual desires.

  2. 2

    Absorbed in their enjoyment, she did not notice how much time was passing.

  3. 3

    The purport explains that sexual indulgence can make people forget the passage of time. Kardama and Devahūti also experienced this absorption.

Key points from the purport
  • Sex indulgence is so enjoyable for materialistic people that when they engage in such activities they forget how time is passing.
  • Saint Kardama and Devahūti, in their sex indulgence, also forgot how time was passing by.

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 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. tasminin that
  2. vimāneairplane
  3. utkṛṣṭāmexcellent
  4. śayyāma bed
  5. rati-karīmincreasing sexual desires
  6. śritāsituated on
  7. nanot
  8. caand
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

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 does absorption in pleasure make me lose awareness of time?

Practice

Set a clear time limit for one pleasurable activity today, and notice how quickly the time passes.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySensual Enjoyment Can Hide Time’s PassingThis 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.

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