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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 31: Lord Kapila’s Instructions on the Movements of the Living Entities
3.31.153.31.17

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.31.16

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 3.31.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

ज्ञानं यदेतददधात्कतम: स देवस्

त्रैकालिकं

स्थिरचरेष्वनुवर्तितांश: ।

तं

जीवकर्मपदवीमनुवर्तमानास्

तापत्रयोपशमनाय वयं भजेम ॥ १६ ॥

jñānaṁ yad etad adadhāt katamaḥ sa devas

trai-kālikaṁ sthira-careṣv anuvartitāṁśaḥ

taṁ jīva-karma-padavīm anuvartamānās

tāpa-trayopaśamanāya vayaṁ bhajema

Translation

No one other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as the localized Paramātmā, the partial representation of the Lord, is directing all inanimate and animate objects. He is present in the three phases of time — past, present and future. Therefore, the conditioned soul is engaged in different activities by His direction, and in order to get free from the threefold miseries of this conditional life, we have to surrender unto Him only.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Guidance Comes from Within and Without

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead, present as Paramātmā, directs animate and inanimate objects. He is the source of real knowledge and memory.

  2. 2

    When a soul sincerely wants freedom from material entanglement, the Lord within gives the knowledge to surrender unto Him. Kṛṣṇa also directs that soul to a bona fide spiritual master.

  3. 3

    The spiritual master is the mercy manifestation of the Supreme Person. By hearing his instructions, the seed of Kṛṣṇa consciousness grows, opening the way out of material bondage.

Key points from the purport
  • When a conditioned soul is seriously anxious to get out of the influence of the material clutches, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated within him as Paramātmā, gives him this knowledge: “Surrender unto Me.”
  • The spiritual master is therefore the mercy manifestation of the Supreme Person.
  • The seed of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sown within the heart of the conditioned soul, and when one hears instruction from the spiritual master, the seed fructifies, and one’s life is blessed.

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 31: Lord Kapila’s Instructions on the Movements of the Living Entities

Kapila describes life in the womb, prayer, birth, forgetfulness, and continued bondage through material activities.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.31
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. jñānamknowledge
  2. yatwhich
  3. etatthis
  4. adadhātgave
  5. katamaḥwho other than
  6. saḥthat
  7. devaḥthe Personality of Godhead
  8. trai-kālikamof the three phases of time
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Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 3.31

    In this verse: “free from”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 3.31

    In this verse: “surrender”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 3.31

    In this verse: “knowledge”

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 seriously do I seek and follow guidance toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness?

Practice

Reread one instruction from Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purport here and choose one way to apply it today.

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayGuidance Comes from Within and WithoutThis 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 3.31.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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