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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 30: Description by Lord Kapila of Adverse Fruitive Activities
3.30.183.30.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.19

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 3.30.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

यमदूतौ तदा प्राप्तौ भीमौ सरभसेक्षणौ ।

स दृष्ट्वा त्रस्तहृदय: शकृन्मूत्रं विमुञ्चति ॥ १९ ॥

yama-dūtau tadā prāptau

bhīmau sarabhasekṣaṇau

sa dṛṣṭvā trasta-hṛdayaḥ

śakṛn-mūtraṁ vimuñcati

Translation

At death, he sees the messengers of the lord of death come before him, their eyes full of wrath, and in great fear he passes stool and urine.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sense Gratification Has Consequences After Death

  1. 1

    At death, the man sees the wrathful messengers of the lord of death. His fear is so great that he passes stool and urine.

  2. 2

    The purport describes two kinds of transmigration: going to Yamarāja, the controller of sinful activities, or going to higher planets, up to Vaikuṇṭha.

  3. 3

    The Yamadūtas take charge of those who have strongly gratified their senses in maintaining a family. They bring them to the planet where Yamarāja resides.

Key points from the purport
  • One kind of transmigration is to go to the controller of sinful activities, who is known as Yamarāja, and the other is to go to the higher planets, up to Vaikuṇṭha.
  • Here Lord Kapila describes how persons engaged in activities of sense gratification to maintain a family are treated by the messengers of Yamarāja, called Yamadūtas.
  • At the time of death the Yamadūtas become the custodians of those persons who have strongly gratified their senses.

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 30: Description by Lord Kapila of Adverse Fruitive Activities

Kapila describes the anxiety, death, and punishment of a person absorbed in sinful material pursuits.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.30
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yama-dūtautwo messengers of Yamarāja
  2. tadāat that time
  3. prāptauarrived
  4. bhīmauterrible
  5. sa-rabhasafull of wrath
  6. īkṣaṇautheir eyes
  7. saḥhe
  8. dṛṣṭvāseeing
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “fear”, “death”

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

    The reorientation of the heart toward service. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “sinful”

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

Am I using family maintenance as a reason to indulge my senses?

Practice

Identify one unnecessary act of sense gratification connected with family life and refrain from it today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 3.30's connections

Live this todaySense Gratification Has Consequences After DeathThis 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 3.30.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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