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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
3.30.33.30.5

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.30.4

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

जन्तुर्वै भव एतस्मिन्यां यां योनिमनुव्रजेत् ।

तस्यां तस्यां स लभते निर्वृतिं न विरज्यते ॥ ४ ॥

jantur vai bhava etasmin

yāṁ yāṁ yonim anuvrajet

tasyāṁ tasyāṁ sa labhate

nirvṛtiṁ na virajyate

Translation

The living entity, in whatever species of life he appears, finds a particular type of satisfaction in that species, and he is never averse to being situated in such a condition.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Satisfaction Can Conceal Illusion

  1. 1

    The living entity finds satisfaction in whatever species of life it enters. Such satisfaction can be illusion, even in a deeply degraded condition.

  2. 2

    Māyā has two activities: āvaraṇātmikā, or covering, and prakṣepātmikā, or pulling down. Her covering influence hides the living entity’s knowledge.

  3. 3

    When consciousness is poorly developed, one cannot properly understand whether one is happy or distressed. Feeling satisfied therefore does not prove that one’s condition is good.

Key points from the purport
  • The satisfaction of the living entity in a particular type of body, even if it is most abominable, is called illusion.
  • In any condition of life, the materialistic person or animal will be satisfied because his knowledge is covered by the influence of māyā.
  • Even a hog, who lives by eating stool, finds himself happy, although a person in a higher mode of life sees that the hog is eating stool.

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. jantuḥthe living entity
  2. vaicertainly
  3. bhavein worldly existence
  4. etasminthis
  5. yām yāmwhatever
  6. yonimspecies
  7. anuvrajethe may obtain
  8. tasyām tasyāmin that
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.30

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “illusion”, “māyā”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

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

    In this verse: “distressed”

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 find satisfying be keeping me from recognizing my actual condition?

Practice

Examine one familiar pleasure today and ask whether satisfaction with it is covering a harmful effect.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Satisfaction Can Conceal IllusionThis 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 3.30.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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