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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 32: Entanglement in Fruitive Activities
3.32.193.32.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 3.32.20

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Personality of Godheadsince 3.32.1inside 4 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraLord Kapila → Devahūti

दक्षिणेन पथार्यम्ण: पितृलोकं व्रजन्ति ते ।

प्रजामनु प्रजायन्ते श्मशानान्तक्रियाकृत: ॥ २० ॥

dakṣiṇena pathāryamṇaḥ

pitṛ-lokaṁ vrajanti te

prajām anu prajāyante

śmaśānānta-kriyā-kṛtaḥ

Translation

Such materialistic persons are allowed to go to the planet called Pitṛloka by the southern course of the sun, but they again come back to this planet and take birth in their own families, beginning again the same fruitive activities from birth to the end of life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Fruitive Rewards Lead Back to Repetition

  1. 1

    Materialistic persons reach Pitṛloka by the southern course of the sun. Their elevation is temporary, and they return to this planet.

  2. 2

    Strong attachment brings them back to the same families. They take birth and begin fruitive activities again.

  3. 3

    Prescribed rituals extend from birth to the end of life. Attachment to these activities keeps the pattern of rising and returning going.

Key points from the purport
  • As soon as their lifetimes of fruitive activity are finished, they return to this planet, and thus they go up and come down.
  • Those who are elevated to the higher planets again come back into the same family for which they had too much attachment; they are born, and the fruitive activities continue again until the end of life.
  • There are different prescribed rituals from birth until the end of life, and they are very much attached to such activities.

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 32: Entanglement in Fruitive Activities

Kapila contrasts temporary material rewards with the knowledge and detachment gained through devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

Back to this verse in chapter 3.32
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. dakṣiṇenasouthern
  2. pathāby the path
  3. aryamṇaḥof the sun
  4. pitṛ-lokamto Pitṛloka
  5. vrajantigo
  6. tethey
  7. prajāmtheir families
  8. anualong with
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 3.32

    In this verse: “materialistic”, “attachment”

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

Am I seeking rewards that would simply lead me back to the same attachments?

Practice

Write down one reward you seek and consider whether it would end your material striving or merely restart it.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFruitive Rewards Lead Back to RepetitionThis 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 3.32.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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