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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
5.1.185.1.20

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.1.19

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Lord Brahmāsince 5.1.19inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

त्वं त्वब्जनाभाङ्‌घ्रिसरोजकोश-

दुर्गाश्रितो निर्जितषट्‌सपत्न: ।

भुङ्‌क्ष्वेह भोगान् पुरुषातिदिष्टान्

विमुक्तसङ्ग: प्रकृतिं भजस्व ॥ १९ ॥

tvaṁ tv abja-nābhāṅghri-saroja-kośa-

durgāśrito nirjita-ṣaṭ-sapatnaḥ

bhuṅkṣveha bhogān puruṣātidiṣṭān

vimukta-saṅgaḥ prakṛtiṁ bhajasva

Translation

Lord Brahmā continued: My dear Priyavrata, seek shelter inside the opening in the lotus of the feet of the Lord, whose navel is also like a lotus. Thus conquer the six sense organs [the mind and knowledge-acquiring senses]. Accept material enjoyment because the Lord, extraordinarily, has ordered you to do this. You will thus always be liberated from material association and be able to carry out the Lord’s orders in your constitutional position.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Take Shelter and Serve the Lord

  1. 1

    Only devotees are situated beyond material nature. Full devotional service carries one beyond the modes of material nature.

  2. 2

    The true fortress is the shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet, not family life. Like a bee protected within a lotus, a devotee finds protection in that shelter.

  3. 3

    Every living entity is constitutionally an eternal servant of God. Priyavrata was to accept material enjoyment only because the Lord ordered it, not for independent sense enjoyment.

Key points from the purport
  • Therefore Lord Brahmā advised Priyavrata, “Be situated in your original position as an eternal servant of the Lord.
  • A sincere devotee who engages in the service of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by preaching His cult all over the world will never be affected by viṣaya-taraṅga, material influences.
  • On the contrary, in due course of time he will return to the shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and will thus have perpetual association with Him.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 3

The purport of SB 5.1.19 quotesBG 14.26

As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (14.26): “One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.”

The purport of SB 5.1.19 quotesSB 10.14.58

It is therefore said in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.58): For one who has taken shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord, everything becomes easier.

The purport of SB 5.1.19 quotesCC Madhya 7.129

He has blessed them, as described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 7.129): A sincere devotee who engages in the service of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by preaching His cult all over the world will never be affected by viṣaya-taraṅga, material influences.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

Everyone is compelled to accept a certain type of body offered by the Supreme Lord and thus be allotted different grades of happiness and distress. Therefore even if one artificially leaves home and goes to the forest, he again becomes attached to materialistic life.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tvamyourself
  2. tuthen
  3. abja-nābhaof the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose navel is like a lotus flower
  4. aṅghrifeet
  5. sarojalotus
  6. kośahole
  7. durgathe stronghold
  8. āśritaḥtaken shelter of
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

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “devotional service”, “devotees”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “knowledge-acquiring”

  • Moha · Material attachment

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

    In this verse: “material”

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 approach my responsibilities as service rather than as opportunities for personal enjoyment?

Practice

Before one responsibility today, pause and pray to carry it out as a servant of the Lord.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

The purport quotesSB 10.14.58

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.1's connections

Live this todayTake Shelter and Serve the LordThis 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 5.1.19? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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