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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 30: Description by Lord Kapila of Adverse Fruitive Activities
3.30.273.30.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.28

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

यास्तामिस्रान्धतामिस्रा रौरवाद्याश्च यातना: ।

भुङ्क्ते नरो वा नारी वा मिथ: सङ्गेन निर्मिता: ॥ २८ ॥

yās tāmisrāndha-tāmisrā

rauravādyāś ca yātanāḥ

bhuṅkte naro vā nārī vā

mithaḥ saṅgena nirmitāḥ

Translation

Men and women whose lives were built upon indulgence in illicit sex life are put into many kinds of miserable conditions in the hells known as Tāmisra, Andha-tāmisra and Raurava.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Restraint in Sex Life Matters

  1. 1

    Men and women who build their lives on illicit sex undergo miserable conditions in Tāmisra, Andha-tāmisra and Raurava.

  2. 2

    The purport describes sex life as the basis of materialistic life. In Vedic civilization, it is restricted to married couples for begetting children.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda warns that illicit sexual indulgence brings suffering in this world or after death. Both men and women are accountable for their conduct.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore, in the Vedic civilization sex life is allowed only in a restricted way: it is for the married couple and only for begetting children.
  • In this world also they are punished by virulent diseases like syphilis and gonorrhea, and in the next life, as we see in this passage of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, they are put into different kinds of hellish conditions to suffer.
  • It is confirmed here in the Bhāgavatam that such offenders are put into hellish conditions of life in Tāmisra, Andha-tāmisra and Raurava.

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. yāḥwhich
  2. tāmisrathe name of a hell
  3. andha-tāmisrāḥthe name of a hell
  4. rauravathe name of a hell
  5. ādyāḥand so on
  6. caand
  7. yātanāḥpunishments
  8. bhuṅkteundergoes
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: “materialistic”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “suffering”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

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

    In this verse: “death”

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 can I approach sexual desire with greater restraint and responsibility?

Practice

Set one concrete boundary today against something that encourages illicit sexual indulgence.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayRestraint in Sex Life MattersThis 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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