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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
3.30.333.31.1

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.34

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

अधस्तान्नरलोकस्य यावतीर्यातनादय: ।

क्रमश: समनुक्रम्य पुनरत्राव्रजेच्छुचि: ॥ ३४ ॥

adhastān nara-lokasya

yāvatīr yātanādayaḥ

kramaśaḥ samanukramya

punar atrāvrajec chuciḥ

Translation

Having gone through all the miserable, hellish conditions and having passed in a regular order through the lowest forms of animal life prior to human birth, and having thus been purged of his sins, one is reborn again as a human being on this earth.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Protects Spiritual Progress

  1. 1

    After suffering hellish conditions and passing through lower animal forms, a person is purged of sins and returns to human birth. The purport compares this release to a prisoner being freed after punishment.

  2. 2

    A person who practices yoga but falls short of perfection is given another human birth in a rich or pious family. This provides another opportunity for self-realization.

  3. 3

    The purport therefore urges one to take up Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the first-class yoga system. Even if this practice remains incomplete, it protects one from hellish life and assures another human birth.

Key points from the purport
  • It is stated that such a person, who has fallen from the path of yoga practice, is given a chance in his next life to take birth in a very rich family or in a very pious family.
  • One who engaged in the process of self-realization, or connecting with the Supreme Absolute Truth, but fell short is allowed to take birth in such a rich family, or in the family of pious brāhmaṇas; either way, he is guaranteed to appear in human society in his next life.
  • Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the purest life, and it protects all human beings from gliding down to hell to take birth in a family of dogs or hogs.

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. adhastātfrom below
  2. nara-lokasyahuman birth
  3. yāvatīḥas many
  4. yātanāpunishments
  5. ādayaḥand so on
  6. kramaśaḥin a regular order
  7. samanukramyahaving gone through
  8. punaḥagain
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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

  • Śuddhi · Inner transformation

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

    In this verse: “sins”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

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

    In this verse: “suffering”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “protects”

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 does the protection offered by Kṛṣṇa consciousness encourage me to continue despite imperfections?

Practice

Spend five minutes today studying this teaching with the intention of advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Consciousness Protects Spiritual ProgressThis 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 3.30.34? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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