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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 10: The Discussion Between Jaḍa Bharata and Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa
5.10.195.10.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.10.20

Mukti· Liberation
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Rahūgaṇasince 5.10.16inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

स वै भवाँल्लोकनिरीक्षणार्थ-

मव्यक्तलिङ्गो विचरत्यपिस्वित् ।

योगेश्वराणां गतिमन्धबुद्धि:

कथं विचक्षीत गृहानुबन्ध: ॥ २० ॥

sa vai bhavāḻ loka-nirīkṣaṇārtham

avyakta-liṅgo vicaraty api svit

yogeśvarāṇāṁ gatim andha-buddhiḥ

kathaṁ vicakṣīta gṛhānubandhaḥ

Translation

Is it not a fact that your good self is the direct representative of Kapiladeva, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? To examine people and see who is actually a human being and who is not, you have presented yourself to be a deaf and dumb person. Are you not moving this way upon the surface of the world? I am very attached to family life and worldly activities, and I am blind to spiritual knowledge. Nonetheless, I am now present before you and am seeking enlightenment from you. How can I advance in spiritual life?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Look Beyond Bodily Designations

  1. 1

    Being a king or appearing deaf and dumb are designations covering the spirit soul. The body is never identical with the soul.

  2. 2

    Through association with Jaḍa Bharata, Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa recognized the illusory nature of his royal identity. His willingness to receive spiritual knowledge was the beginning of his perfection.

  3. 3

    One who sincerely wants to understand the goal of human life must approach a guru who represents the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Although Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa was playing the part of a king, he had been informed by Jaḍa Bharata that he was not a king nor was Jaḍa Bharata deaf and dumb.
  • A person like Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa, who was very inquisitive to know the value of life and the spiritual science, must approach a personality like Jaḍa Bharata.
  • One must approach a guru like Jaḍa Bharata, a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to inquire about the goal of human life.

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· 2

The purport of SB 5.10.20 quotesBG 2.13

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13): dehino ’smin yathā dehe.

The purport of SB 5.10.20 quotesSB 11.3.21

Tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam. One must approach a guru like Jaḍa Bharata, a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to inquire about the goal of human life.

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

Misjudgment → Humility and insight. Spiritual insight hides behind social appearances.

Chapters 10–14 of Canto 5: Jaḍa Bharata instructs Rahūgaṇa. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 10: The Discussion Between Jaḍa Bharata and Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

He protested against the filthy language used by the King when the King chastised him, and the King, hearing the instructions of Jaḍa Bharata, was awakened to his real knowledge. When he came to his consciousness, he understood that he had offended a great, learned and saintly person.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.10
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation Kapiladeva
  2. vaiindeed
  3. bhavānyour good self
  4. loka-nirīkṣaṇa-arthamjust to study the characteristics of the people of this world
  5. avyakta-liṅgaḥwithout manifesting your real identity
  6. vicaratiare traveling in this world
  7. api svitwhether
  8. yoga-īśvarāṇāmof all the advanced yogīs
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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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “knowledge”, “spirit soul”, “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “attached”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “king”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which worldly role or attachment makes it harder for me to seek spiritual knowledge?

Practice

Take a quiet minute to reflect that your bodily role is not your identity as a spirit soul.

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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 11.3.21

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.10's connections

Live this todayLook Beyond Bodily DesignationsThis 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 5.10.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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