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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
5.1.275.1.29

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.1.28

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.1.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

अन्यस्यामपि जायायां त्रय: पुत्रा आसन्नुत्तमस्तामसो रैवत इति मन्वन्तराधिपतय: ॥ २८ ॥

anyasyām api jāyāyāṁ trayaḥ putrā āsann uttamas tāmaso raivata iti manvantarādhipatayaḥ.

Translation

In his other wife, Mahārāja Priyavrata begot three sons, named Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata. All of them later took charge of manvantara millenniums.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Priyavrata’s Sons Become Manus

  1. 1

    Mahārāja Priyavrata had three sons through his other wife: Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata. All three later ruled manvantara millenniums.

  2. 2

    Every day of Brahmā contains fourteen manvantaras. One manvantara is the life span of one Manu.

  3. 3

    The purport gives a manvantara’s duration as seventy-one yugas, each lasting 4,320,000 years. Almost all the Manus chosen to rule these periods came from Mahārāja Priyavrata’s family.

Key points from the purport
  • In every day of Brahmā there are fourteen manvantaras.
  • Almost all the Manus selected to rule the manvantaras came from the family of Mahārāja Priyavrata.
  • Three of them are particularly mentioned herein, namely Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata.

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:

Mahārāja Priyavrata also had a second wife, in whom he begot three sons named Uttama, Raivata and Tāmasa. All of them were elevated to the post of Manu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.1
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. anyasyāmother
  2. apialso
  3. jāyāyāmin the wife
  4. trayaḥthree
  5. putrāḥsons
  6. āsanthere were
  7. uttamaḥ tāmasaḥ raivataḥUttama, Tāmasa and Raivata
  8. itithus
  9. manu-antaraof the manvantara millennium
  10. adhipatayaḥrulers
3

Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 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

How does this description broaden my sense of the timescales presented in the text?

Practice

Write down the names Uttama, Tāmasa and Raivata, and note that they became rulers of manvantaras.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayPriyavrata’s Sons Become ManusThis 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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