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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 12: Conversation Between Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata
5.12.135.12.15

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.12.14

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The self-realized brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharatasince 5.12.5-6inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

अहं पुरा भरतो नाम राजा

विमुक्तद‍ृष्टश्रुतसङ्गबन्ध: ।

आराधनं भगवत ईहमानो

मृगोऽभवं मृगसङ्गाद्धतार्थ: ॥ १४ ॥

ahaṁ purā bharato nāma rājā

vimukta-dṛṣṭa-śruta-saṅga-bandhaḥ

ārādhanaṁ bhagavata īhamāno

mṛgo ’bhavaṁ mṛga-saṅgād dhatārthaḥ

Translation

In a previous birth I was known as Mahārāja Bharata. I attained perfection by becoming completely detached from material activities through direct experience, and through indirect experience I received understanding from the Vedas. I was fully engaged in the service of the Lord, but due to my misfortune, I became very affectionate to a small deer, so much so that I neglected my spiritual duties. Due to my deep affection for the deer, in my next life I had to accept the body of a deer.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Protect Devotion Through Spiritual Guidance

  1. 1

    Mahārāja Bharata had become detached from material activities and was fully engaged in the Lord’s service. Yet excessive affection for a deer led him to neglect his spiritual duties and accept a deer’s body.

  2. 2

    Despite his rigid devotional life, Bharata Mahārāja did not consult a spiritual master about this attachment. Forgetting his spiritual routine, he fell down.

  3. 3

    Following the spiritual master’s orders protects the disciple from falling down. Considering the spiritual master ordinary or ambitiously trying to occupy his post blocks spiritual advancement.

Key points from the purport
  • If one always follows the orders of the spiritual master, there is no question of falling down.
  • Despite a very rigid life in devotional service, Bharata Mahārāja did not consult a spiritual master when he became overly attached to a deer.
  • Consequently he became strongly attached to the deer, and, forgetting his spiritual routine, he fell down.

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 12: Conversation Between Mahārāja Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Jaḍa Bharata also told about his own previous birth and informed the King that by the grace of the Lord he still remembered all the incidents of his past life. Due to the activities of his past life, Jaḍa Bharata was being very cautious and was therefore assuming the characteristics of a deaf and dumb man to avoid mingling with the material world.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.12
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. ahamI
  2. purāformerly (in my previous birth)
  3. bharataḥ nāma rājāa King named Mahārāja Bharata
  4. vimuktaliberated from
  5. dṛṣṭa-śrutaby experiencing personally through direct association or by getting knowledge from the Vedas
  6. saṅga-bandhaḥbondage by association
  7. ārādhanamthe worship
  8. bhagavataḥof the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva
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

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.12

    In this verse: “material”, “attachment”

  • Vairāgya · Freedom from attachment

    Release from possessiveness and false identities. · Theme in SB 5.12

    In this verse: “detached”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.12

    In this verse: “understanding”

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

Is an attachment drawing me away from my spiritual duties and the guidance I have received?

Practice

Notice one attachment that interrupts your spiritual routine, and set it aside while completing one devotional duty today.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayProtect Devotion Through Spiritual GuidanceThis 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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