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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 ›

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.10.6

Who is speaking and story frame

अहो कष्टं भ्रातर्व्यक्तमुरुपरिश्रान्तो दीर्घमध्वानमेक एव ऊहिवान् सुचिरं नातिपीवा न संहननाङ्गो जरसा चोपद्रुतो भवान् सखे नो एवापर एते सङ्घट्टिन इति बहुविप्रलब्धोऽप्यविद्यया रचितद्रव्यगुणकर्माशयस्वचरमकलेवरेऽवस्तुनि संस्थानविशेषेऽहं ममेत्यनध्यारोपितमिथ्याप्रत्ययो ब्रह्मभूतस्तूष्णीं शिबिकां पूर्ववदुवाह ॥ ६ ॥

aho kaṣṭaṁ bhrātar vyaktam uru-pariśrānto dīrgham adhvānam eka eva ūhivān suciraṁ nāti-pīvā na saṁhananāṅgo jarasā copadruto bhavān sakhe no evāpara ete saṅghaṭṭina iti bahu-vipralabdho ’py avidyayā racita-dravya-guṇa-karmāśaya-sva-carama-kalevare ’vastuni saṁsthāna-viśeṣe ’haṁ mamety anadhyāropita-mithyā-pratyayo brahma-bhūtas tūṣṇīṁ śibikāṁ pūrvavad uvāha.

Translation

King Rahūgaṇa told Jaḍa Bharata: How troublesome this is, my dear brother. You certainly appear very fatigued because you have carried this palanquin alone without assistance for a long time and for a long distance. Besides that, due to your old age you have become greatly troubled. My dear friend, I see that you are not very firm, nor very strong and stout. Aren’t your fellow carriers cooperating with you?

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Identity Is Beyond Bodily Criticism

  1. 1

    The King criticized Jaḍa Bharata with sarcastic words, but Jaḍa Bharata knew he was not the body. Having realized his spiritual identity, he remained unaffected.

  2. 2

    The body develops according to karma, with ingredients supplied by material nature. The spirit soul is different from this bodily construction.

  3. 3

    Jaḍa Bharata's freedom from bodily identification did not mean independence from the Lord's mercy. The purport recalls that he had been saved from bodily danger by Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • **In this way the King criticized Jaḍa Bharata with sarcastic words, yet despite being criticized in this way, Jaḍa Bharata had no bodily conception of the situation.
  • He knew that he could not be killed even if his body were killed.
  • In this case, while carrying the palanquin, he also knew that he was not the body.

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 5.10.6 quotesBG 2.20

Even if the body were killed, he would not have cared, for he was thoroughly convinced of the proposition found in Bhagavad-gītā (2.20): na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre.

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:

A carrier of King Rahūgaṇa’s palanquin was needed, and to fulfill this need the chief carriers found Jaḍa Bharata as the most likely person to do the work. He was therefore forced to carry the palanquin.
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. ahoalas
  2. kaṣṭamhow troublesome it is
  3. bhrātaḥmy dear brother
  4. vyaktamclearly
  5. uruvery much
  6. pariśrāntaḥfatigued
  7. dīrghama long
  8. adhvānampath
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Key ideas in this verse

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

  • Ūti · The creative impetus

    Why do we act, and what keeps us bound? · Subject 5 of 10

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “friend”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “king”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.10

    In this verse: “danger”

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could remembering that I am the spirit soul change my response to criticism of my body?

Practice

Spend one quiet minute reflecting: “I am the spirit soul, different from the material body.”

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The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySpiritual Identity Is Beyond Bodily CriticismThis 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 5.10.6? Get an answer from the verses themselves.