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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
5.1.195.1.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.1.20

Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devotees
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.1.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

श्रीशुक उवाच

इति समभिहितो महाभागवतो भगवतस्त्रिभुवनगुरोरनुशासनमात्मनो लघुतयावनतशिरोधरो बाढमिति सबहुमानमुवाह ॥ २० ॥

śrī-śuka uvāca

iti samabhihito mahā-bhāgavato bhagavatas tri-bhuvana-guror anuśāsanam ātmano laghutayāvanata-śirodharo bāḍham iti sabahu-mānam uvāha.

Translation

Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: After thus being fully instructed by Lord Brahmā, who is the spiritual master of the three worlds, Priyavrata, his own position being inferior, offered obeisances, accepted the order and carried it out with great respect.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Receive Spiritual Instruction with Humility

  1. 1

    Priyavrata offered obeisances and accepted Lord Brahmā’s order with great respect. Although a great devotee, he humbly acknowledged his position.

  2. 2

    A great devotee carries out the order of the spiritual master or the spiritual master’s spiritual master. The Supreme Lord’s instructions are received through this disciplic chain.

  3. 3

    A devotee always considers himself a servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord. This humble understanding supports respectful obedience.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrī Priyavrata was the grandson of Lord Brahmā.
  • Priyavrata is described as a mahā-bhāgavata, a great devotee.
  • The duty of a great devotee is to carry out the order of the spiritual master, or the spiritual master of the spiritual master in the paramparā system.

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· 1

The purport of SB 5.1.20 quotesBG 4.2

As described in Bhagavad-gītā (4.2), evaṁ paramparā prāptam: one has to receive the instructions of the Supreme Lord through the disciplic chain of spiritual masters.

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. śrī-śukaḥ uvācaŚrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
  2. itithus
  3. samabhihitaḥcompletely instructed
  4. mahā-bhāgavataḥthe great devotee
  5. bhagavataḥof the most powerful Lord Brahmā
  6. tri-bhuvanaof the three worlds
  7. guroḥthe spiritual master
  8. anuśāsanamthe order
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Īśānukathā · The science of God

    Who is the Lord, and how do His devotees live? · Subject 7 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

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

    In this verse: “devotee”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understanding”

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 5.1

    In this verse: “humble”

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 does seeing myself as a servant affect the way I receive spiritual instruction?

Practice

Reread one instruction you have received through the disciplic chain and choose one concrete way to follow it today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayReceive Spiritual Instruction with HumilityThis 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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