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

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 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 5 · Chapter 1: The Activities of Mahārāja Priyavrata
5.1.175.1.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.1.18

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 5.1.11inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

य: षट् सपत्नान् विजिगीषमाणो

गृहेषु निर्विश्य यतेत पूर्वम् ।

अत्येति दुर्गाश्रित ऊर्जितारीन्

क्षीणेषु कामं विचरेद्विपश्चित् ॥ १८ ॥

yaḥ ṣaṭ sapatnān vijigīṣamāṇo

gṛheṣu nirviśya yateta pūrvam

atyeti durgāśrita ūrjitārīn

kṣīṇeṣu kāmaṁ vicared vipaścit

Translation

One who is situated in household life and who systematically conquers his mind and five sense organs is like a king in his fortress who conquers his powerful enemies. After one has been trained in household life and his lusty desires have decreased, he can move anywhere without danger.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Train the Senses Before Moving Freely

  1. 1

    The purpose of the four varṇas and four āśramas is to enable one to control the senses. Training in sense control begins before household life.

  2. 2

    Household life can be like a strong fortress from which one conquers powerful enemies. Within it, one should systematically overcome the mind, senses and lusty desires.

  3. 3

    Further training prepares a person for vānaprastha and then sannyāsa. A learned, renounced person can move freely without fear of being captured by material desires.

Key points from the purport
  • Before entering household life (gṛhastha-āśrama), a student is fully trained to become jitendriya, a conqueror of the senses.
  • Such a mature student is allowed to become a householder, and because he was first trained in conquering his senses, he retires from household life and becomes vānaprastha as soon as the strong waves of youthful life are past and he reaches the verge of old age at fifty years or slightly more.
  • As a king in a strong fortress can conquer powerful enemies, so a householder in gṛhastha-āśrama, household life, can conquer the lusty desires of youth and be very secure when he takes vānaprastha and sannyāsa.

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

Responsibility → Renunciation. Leadership is set beside the renounced ideal.

Chapters 1–6 of Canto 5: Priyavrata and Ṛṣabhadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 1: The Activities of Mahārāja Priyavrata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Family life is compared to a fortress for practicing sense control. When the senses are controlled, one may live either at home or in the forest; there is no difference.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. yaḥanyone who
  2. ṣaṭsix
  3. sapatnānadversaries
  4. vijigīṣamāṇaḥdesiring to conquer
  5. gṛheṣuin household life
  6. nirviśyahaving entered
  7. yatetamust try
  8. pūrvamfirst
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Mukti · Liberation

    What is real freedom for the soul? · Subject 9 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “lusty”, “household”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “danger”, “fear”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “varṇas”, “āśramas”

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 can I use my present circumstances as a place for steady training in sense control?

Practice

Choose one unnecessary sense indulgence to refrain from today, and notice how your mind responds.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayTrain the Senses Before Moving FreelyThis 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 5.1.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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