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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
3.30.283.30.30

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.29

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kapilasince 3.30.29inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

अत्रैव नरक: स्वर्ग इति मात: प्रचक्षते ।

या यातना वै नारक्यस्ता इहाप्युपलक्षिता: ॥ २९ ॥

atraiva narakaḥ svarga

iti mātaḥ pracakṣate

yā yātanā vai nārakyas

tā ihāpy upalakṣitāḥ

Translation

Lord Kapila continued: My dear mother, it is sometimes said that we experience hell or heaven on this planet, for hellish punishments are sometimes visible on this planet also.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hellish Conditions Are Visible Here Too

  1. 1

    Lord Kapila confirms that hellish punishments can also be seen on this planet. The purport presents this as an answer to those who dismiss scriptural descriptions of hell.

  2. 2

    On Yamarāja’s planet, the sinful person practices enduring conditions that will continue in a later birth.

  3. 3

    The conditioned soul may think he is enjoying even a hellish condition. The purport gives the example of a hog eating stool and considering it enjoyment.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kapila therefore confirms them by saying that these hellish conditions are also visible on this planet.
  • On the planet of Yamarāja, the sinful man is given the chance to practice living in the hellish conditions which he will have to endure in the next life, and then he is given a chance to take birth on another planet to continue his hellish life.
  • Otherwise, it would not be possible for him to suffer hellish life.

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. atrain this world
  2. evaeven
  3. narakaḥhell
  4. svargaḥheaven
  5. itithus
  6. mātaḥO mother
  7. pracakṣatethey say
  8. yāḥwhich
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

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “mother”

  • 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

Could something I call enjoyment actually be keeping me attached to a miserable condition?

Practice

Examine one habitual pleasure today and write down whether it brings genuine well-being or continued distress.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayHellish Conditions Are Visible Here TooThis 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 3.30.29? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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