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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 14: The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment
5.14.145.14.16

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.14.15

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:King Parīkṣitsince 5.13.26inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

क्‍वचिदासाद्य गृहं दाववत्प्रियार्थविधुरमसुखोदर्कं शोकाग्निना दह्यमानो भृशं निर्वेदमुपगच्छति ॥ १५ ॥

kvacid āsādya gṛhaṁ dāvavat priyārtha-vidhuram asukhodarkaṁ śokāgninā dahyamāno bhṛśaṁ nirvedam upagacchati.

Translation

In this world, family life is exactly like a blazing fire in the forest. There is not the least happiness, and gradually one becomes more and more implicated in unhappiness. In household life, there is nothing favorable for perpetual happiness. Being implicated in home life, the conditioned soul is burned by the fire of lamentation. Sometimes he condemns himself as being very unfortunate, and sometimes he claims that he suffers because he performed no pious activities in his previous life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Life Burns Like a Forest Fire

  1. 1

    Material life is compared to a blazing forest fire. Just as a forest can catch fire without anyone deliberately setting it, suffering arises although everyone wants happiness.

  2. 2

    Attachment to household life does not provide perpetual happiness. The conditioned soul instead becomes burned by lamentation and increasing disappointment.

  3. 3

    A suffering person may condemn himself as unfortunate. Yet the bodily conception keeps him entangled, so self-condemnation alone does not free him.

Key points from the purport
  • A life in this material world is exactly like a blazing forest fire.
  • No one goes to set fire to the forest, yet the fire takes place.
  • Sometimes a person caught in the blazing fire of material existence condemns himself, but due to his bodily conception he cannot get out of the entanglement, and thus he suffers more and more.

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 14: The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Over and above this, there are family members, wife and children, who are exactly like ferocious animals in the forest. The business of such ferocious animals is to eat a man’s flesh.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. kvacitsometimes
  2. āsādyaexperiencing
  3. gṛhamthe home life
  4. dāva-vatexactly like a blazing fire in the forest
  5. priya-artha-vidhuramwithout any beneficial object
  6. asukha-udarkamresulting only in more and more unhappiness
  7. śoka-agnināby the fire of lamentation
  8. dahyamānaḥbeing burned
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 5.14

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

  • Kṛpā · Divine mercy

    Grace received beyond material calculations. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “favorable”

  • Viraha · Longing in separation

    Love and remembrance experienced in apparent absence. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “lamentation”

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

Am I expecting lasting happiness from arrangements that repeatedly bring worry and lamentation?

Practice

Write down one household worry and examine the expectation of lasting happiness behind it, without turning the reflection into self-blame.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMaterial Life Burns Like a Forest FireThis 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 5.14.15? Get an answer from the verses themselves.