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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
3.30.193.30.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.20

Ūti· What drives us to act
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

यातनादेह आवृत्य पाशैर्बद्ध्वा गले बलात् ।

नयतो दीर्घमध्वानं दण्ड्यं राजभटा यथा ॥ २० ॥

yātanā-deha āvṛtya

pāśair baddhvā gale balāt

nayato dīrgham adhvānaṁ

daṇḍyaṁ rāja-bhaṭā yathā

Translation

As a criminal is arrested for punishment by the constables of the state, a person engaged in criminal sense gratification is similarly arrested by the Yamadūtas, who bind him by the neck with strong rope and cover his subtle body so that he may undergo severe punishment.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Eternal Soul Faces Its Actions

  1. 1

    Like state constables arresting a criminal, the Yamadūtas bind the person engaged in criminal sense gratification and cover his subtle body for punishment.

  2. 2

    Every living entity has gross and subtle coverings. The subtle body consists of mind, ego, intelligence and consciousness.

  3. 3

    The living entity is eternal and cannot be killed. The purpose of the punishment is not to end his existence but to make him suffer the consequences of his sense-gratifying activities.

Key points from the purport
  • Every living entity is covered by a subtle and gross body.
  • The subtle body is the covering of mind, ego, intelligence and consciousness.
  • It is said in the scriptures that the constables of Yamarāja cover the subtle body of the culprit and take him to the abode of Yamarāja to be punished in a way that he is able to tolerate.

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
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yātanāfor punishment
  2. dehehis body
  3. āvṛtyacovering
  4. pāśaiḥwith ropes
  5. baddhvābinding
  6. galeby the neck
  7. balātby force
  8. nayataḥthey lead
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “sense gratification”

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 would remembering the consequences of my actions change a choice I face today?

Practice

Before one sense-gratifying choice today, pause and consider its consequences rather than only its immediate pleasure.

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 todayThe Eternal Soul Faces Its ActionsThis 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 3.30.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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