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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 11: Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa
5.11.85.11.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.11.9

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharatasince 5.11.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

एकादशासन्मनसो हि वृत्तय

आकूतय: पञ्च धियोऽभिमान: ।

मात्राणि कर्माणि पुरं च तासां

वदन्ति हैकादश वीर भूमी: ॥ ९ ॥

ekādaśāsan manaso hi vṛttaya

ākūtayaḥ pañca dhiyo ’bhimānaḥ

mātrāṇi karmāṇi puraṁ ca tāsāṁ

vadanti haikādaśa vīra bhūmīḥ

Translation

There are five working senses and five knowledge-acquiring senses. There is also the false ego. In this way, there are eleven items for the mind’s functions. O hero, the objects of the senses [such as sound and touch], the organic activities [such as evacuation] and the different types of bodies, society, friendship and personality are considered by learned scholars the fields of activity for the functions of the mind.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

False Identification Entangles the Soul

  1. 1

    The mind controls the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the five working senses. Each sense has its own field of activity.

  2. 2

    Through false ego, one thinks oneself the body and thinks in terms of “my body, my house, my family, my society, my nation.”

  3. 3

    These false identifications are expansions of false ego. Through them, the living entity becomes entangled in material existence.

Key points from the purport
  • The mind is the controller of the five knowledge-acquiring senses and the five working senses.
  • Thus one thinks that he is this or that.
  • Thus the living entity becomes entangled in material existence.

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

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 11: Jaḍa Bharata Instructs King Rahūgaṇa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

According to different opinions, there are eleven or twelve mental activities, which can be transformed into hundreds and thousands. A person who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious is subjected to all these mental concoctions and is thus governed by the material energy.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.11
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ekādaśaeleven
  2. āsanthere are
  3. manasaḥof the mind
  4. hicertainly
  5. vṛttayaḥactivities
  6. ākūtayaḥsenses of action
  7. pañcafive
  8. dhiyaḥsenses for gathering knowledge
3

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

  • Dainya · Humility

    Ego yields to insight, service and surrender. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “false ego”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “knowledge-acquiring”

  • Sakhya · Sacred friendship

    The affection of companions and friends of the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.11

    In this verse: “friendship”

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

Which thoughts of “I” and “mine” most strongly shape how I see myself?

Practice

Notice one thought of “my body” or “my possessions” today, and pause to recognize the false identification described here.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayFalse Identification Entangles the SoulThis 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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