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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 29: Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapila
3.29.43.29.6

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.29.5

Poṣaṇa· The Lord's protection
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Devahūtisince 3.29.3inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

लोकस्य मिथ्याभिमतेरचक्षुष-

श्चिरं प्रसुप्तस्य तमस्यनाश्रये ।

श्रान्तस्य कर्मस्वनुविद्धया धिया

त्वमाविरासी: किल योगभास्कर: ॥ ५ ॥

lokasya mithyābhimater acakṣuṣaś

ciraṁ prasuptasya tamasy anāśraye

śrāntasya karmasv anuviddhayā dhiyā

tvam āvirāsīḥ kila yoga-bhāskaraḥ

Translation

My dear Lord, You are just like the sun, for You illuminate the darkness of the conditional life of the living entities. Because their eyes of knowledge are not open, they are sleeping eternally in that darkness without Your shelter, and therefore they are falsely engaged by the actions and reactions of their material activities, and they appear to be very fatigued.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Illuminates Life's True Goal

  1. 1

    Devahūti compassionately asks the Lord to illuminate the lives of conditioned souls. A devotee wishes to awaken those who do not know life's goal.

  2. 2

    Bhakti-yoga is like sunlight that delivers conditioned souls from darkness. The living being is eternal, so caring only for the temporary body neglects life's eternal needs.

  3. 3

    Attempts to relieve the fatigue of material struggle cannot succeed without addressing those eternal needs. Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is the path that mitigates this fatigue.

Key points from the purport
  • It appears that Śrīmatī Devahūti, the glorious mother of Lord Kapiladeva, is very compassionate for the regrettable condition of people in general, who, not knowing the goal of life, are sleeping in the darkness of illusion.
  • Similarly, Devahūti is requesting her glorious son to illuminate the lives of the conditioned souls so that their most regrettable conditional life may be ended.
  • If one engages only in caring for the necessities of the body, not caring for the eternal necessities of life, then he is part of a civilization whose advancement puts the living entities in the darkest region of ignorance.

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

Entanglement → Insight and liberation. Inquiry matures into instruction in devotion and spiritual nature.

Chapters 25–33 of Canto 3: Kapila instructs Devahūti. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 29: Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapila

Kapila explains devotional service, honoring the Lord’s presence in all beings, and the power of time.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.29
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. lokasyaof the living entities
  2. mithyā-abhimateḥdeluded by false ego
  3. acakṣuṣaḥblind
  4. ciramfor a very long time
  5. prasuptasyasleeping
  6. tamasiin darkness
  7. anāśrayewithout shelter
  8. śrāntasyafatigued
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Poṣaṇa · Protection by the Lord

    How does the Lord care for His devotees? · Subject 4 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 3.29

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotee”, “bhakti-yoga”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.29

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.29

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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

Am I giving attention to my eternal needs, or only to the needs of my body?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to study this teaching on bhakti-yoga instead of attending only to bodily concerns.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayDevotional Service Illuminates Life's True GoalThis 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 3.29.5? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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