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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 31: Lord Kapila’s Instructions on the Movements of the Living Entities
3.31.213.31.23

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.31.22

Visarga· Brahmā's creation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Kapilasince 3.31.22inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

कपिल उवाच

एवं कृतमतिर्गर्भे दशमास्य: स्तुवन्नृषि: ।

सद्य: क्षिपत्यवाचीनं प्रसूत्यै सूतिमारुत: ॥ २२ ॥

kapila uvāca

evaṁ kṛta-matir garbhe

daśa-māsyaḥ stuvann ṛṣiḥ

sadyaḥ kṣipaty avācīnaṁ

prasūtyai sūti-mārutaḥ

Translation

Lord Kapila continued: The ten-month-old living entity has these desires even while in the womb. But while he thus extols the Lord, the wind that helps parturition propels him forth with his face turned downward so that he may be born.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Prayer Amid the Movement Toward Birth

  1. 1

    Lord Kapila describes the ten-month-old living entity as still holding these desires within the womb.

  2. 2

    The living entity is praising the Lord when the movement toward birth begins.

  3. 3

    The wind that helps childbirth propels him forward with his face turned downward. Birth proceeds even while he is offering praise.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kapilaḥ uvācaLord Kapila said
  2. evamthus
  3. kṛta-matiḥdesiring
  4. garbhein the womb
  5. daśa-māsyaḥten-month-old
  6. stuvanextolling
  7. ṛṣiḥthe living entity
  8. sadyaḥat that very time
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Visarga · Subcreation

    How do living beings and their worlds appear? · Subject 2 of 10

  • Vātsalya · Parental affection

    Affection and protective concern for the Lord as a child. · Theme in SB 3.31

    In this verse: “childbirth”

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

What does the living entity’s praise during this transition invite me to reflect on?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer of praise to the Lord before beginning your next activity.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPrayer Amid the Movement Toward BirthThis 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 3.31.22? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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