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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
5.13.85.13.10

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.13.9

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

क्‍वचिन्निगीर्णोऽजगराहिना जनो

नावैति किञ्चिद्विपिनेऽपविद्ध: ।

दष्ट: स्म शेते क्‍व च दन्दशूकै-

रन्धोऽन्धकूपे पतितस्तमिस्रे ॥ ९ ॥

kvacin nigīrṇo ’jagarāhinā jano

nāvaiti kiñcid vipine ’paviddhaḥ

daṣṭaḥ sma śete kva ca danda-śūkair

andho ’ndha-kūpe patitas tamisre

Translation

The conditioned soul in the material forest is sometimes swallowed by a python or crushed. At such a time he is left lying in the forest like a dead person, devoid of consciousness and knowledge. Sometimes other poisonous snakes bite him. Being blind to his consciousness, he falls down into a dark well of hellish life with no hope of being rescued.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Awaken Through the Lord’s Holy Name

  1. 1

    The conditioned soul is sleeping on the lap of the illusory energy. This sleep means being without knowledge of spiritual life.

  2. 2

    Caitanya Mahāprabhu offers the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as medicine to awaken living beings from this sleep.

  3. 3

    Human life gives us an opportunity to wake up and seek spiritual knowledge. Under the spell of illusion and time, pure consciousness is lost.

Key points from the purport
  • Similarly, the conditioned soul is actually sleeping on the lap of the illusory energy.
  • People do not understand that they are actually sleeping in this material world, being devoid of knowledge of spiritual life.
  • The sleeping condition, called kāla-sarpa (the time factor), keeps the conditioned soul in a state of ignorance, and therefore pure consciousness is lost.

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 5.13.9 quotesBG 2.69

In Bhagavad-gītā (2.69) it is also said, yā niśā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṁyamī: “What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled.”

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 13: Further Talks Between King Rahūgaṇa and Jaḍa Bharata

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Sometimes he is attacked by a snake (deep sleep), and due to the snakebite he loses consciousness and becomes puzzled and bewildered about discharging his duties. Sometimes he is attracted by women other than his wife, and thus be thinks he enjoys extramarital love with another woman.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.13
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvacitsometimes
  2. nigīrṇaḥbeing swallowed
  3. ajagara-ahināby the great snake known as the python
  4. janaḥthe conditioned soul
  5. nanot
  6. avaitiunderstands
  7. kiñcitanything
  8. vipinein the forest
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 5.13

    In this verse: “material”, “illusion”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.13

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Rakṣā · Divine protection

    Protection of devotees through the Lord’s intervention. · Theme in SB 5.13

    In this verse: “rescued”

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

Where do I notice forgetfulness of spiritual life in my daily routine?

Practice

Set aside two minutes today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra attentively.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayAwaken Through the Lord’s Holy NameThis 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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