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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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 4 · Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life
4.28.134.28.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.28.14

Nirodha· Winding up
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Nārada Munisince 4.28.1inside 5 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → ViduraNārada Muni → King PrācīnabarhiThe allegory of King Purañjana → Prācīnabarhi, as listener

न शेके सोऽवितुं तत्र पुरुकृच्छ्रोरुवेपथु: ।

गन्तुमैच्छत्ततो वृक्षकोटरादिव सानलात् ॥ १४ ॥

na śeke so ’vituṁ tatra

puru-kṛcchroru-vepathuḥ

gantum aicchat tato vṛkṣa-

koṭarād iva sānalāt

Translation

As a serpent living within the cavity of a tree wishes to leave when there is a forest fire, so the city’s police superintendent, the snake, wished to leave the city due to the fire’s severe heat.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Life Air Struggles to Leave

  1. 1

    The snake wished to leave the burning city because of the severe heat. It is compared to a serpent seeking escape from a burning tree.

  2. 2

    The purport explains that snakes have difficulty escaping a forest fire. Unlike animals with long legs, they can only crawl.

  3. 3

    At the last stage of life, the life air is affected more severely than the limbs of the body.

Key points from the purport
  • It becomes very difficult for snakes to leave a forest when there is a fire.
  • Other animals may flee due to their long legs, but serpents, only being able to crawl, are generally burnt in the fire.
  • At the last stage, the limbs of the body are not as much affected as the life air.

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

Worldly absorption → Sobering awareness. The mind's identification with material life becomes visible.

Chapters 24–29 of Canto 4: Śiva's song and the allegory of Purañjana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 28: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life

Purañjana’s city falls; he becomes a woman, and a brāhmaṇa recalls the soul’s forgotten spiritual friendship.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.28
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. śekewas able
  3. saḥhe
  4. avitumto protect
  5. tatrathere
  6. puruvery much
  7. kṛcchradifficulty
  8. urugreat
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Nirodha · Returning home, back to Godhead

    What happens when everything here comes to an end? · Subject 8 of 10

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 struggling serpent help me understand about the difficulty of leaving the body?

Practice

Reread the serpent comparison slowly, reflecting on the helplessness it describes.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayThe Life Air Struggles to LeaveThis 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.

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