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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 13: Further Talks Between King Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata
5.13.175.13.19

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.13.18

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Jaḍa Bharata, who had fully realized Brahmansince 5.13.1inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitJaḍa Bharata → King Rahūgaṇa

द्रुमेषु रंस्यन् सुतदारवत्सलो

व्यवायदीनो विवश: स्वबन्धने ।

क्‍वचित्प्रमादाद् गिरिकन्दरे पतन्

वल्लीं गृहीत्वा गजभीत आस्थित: ॥ १८ ॥

drumeṣu raṁsyan suta-dāra-vatsalo

vyavāya-dīno vivaśaḥ sva-bandhane

kvacit pramādād giri-kandare patan

vallīṁ gṛhītvā gaja-bhīta āsthitaḥ

Translation

When the living entity becomes exactly like a monkey jumping from one branch to another, he remains in the tree of household life without any profit but sex. Thus he is kicked by his wife just like the he-ass. Unable to gain release, he remains helplessly in that position. Sometimes he falls victim to an incurable disease, which is like falling into a mountain cave. He becomes afraid of death, which is like the elephant in the back of that cave, and he remains stranded, grasping at the twigs and branches of a creeper.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sense Enjoyment Offers No Secure Shelter

  1. 1

    The verse describes a householder bound to sexual enjoyment, like a monkey remaining in a tree. Though suffering, he feels unable to leave his condition.

  2. 2

    The purport describes continuous sexual indulgence leading to incurable disease. The attraction to enjoyment does not remove the misery of this precarious life.

  3. 3

    Death is compared to an elephant that fills the person with fear. His desperate hold on material shelter resembles a monkey hanging from twigs and branches.

Key points from the purport
  • A householder’s life is full of misery, and the only attraction is sex with the wife who kicks him during sexual intercourse, just as the she-ass does her mate.
  • Due to continuous sex life, he falls victim to many incurable diseases.
  • At that time, being afraid of death, which is like an elephant, he remains hanging from the twigs and branches of the tree, just like a monkey.

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 13: Further Talks Between King Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Expecting to become happy, the living entity changes his position from one place to another, but actually a materialistic person within the material world is never happy. Being constantly engaged in materialistic activities, he is always disturbed.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. drumeṣuin the trees (or in houses standing like trees in which monkeys jump from one branch to another)
  2. raṁsyanenjoying
  3. suta-dāra-vatsalaḥbeing attached to the children and wife
  4. vyavāya-dīnaḥwho is poor-hearted because of acting on the platform of sex desire
  5. vivaśaḥunable to give up
  6. sva-bandhanein bondage to the reactions of one’s own activities
  7. kvacitsometimes
  8. pramādātfrom fear of imminent death
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

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.13

    In this verse: “afraid”, “death”, “fear”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.13

    In this verse: “household”, “householder”, “material”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.13

    In this verse: “suffering”

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

What enjoyment am I clinging to as though it could protect me from disease and death?

Practice

Pause before one act of sense indulgence today and reflect on whether it offers lasting security.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySense Enjoyment Offers No Secure ShelterThis 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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