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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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Choose a chapter to see all its verses.

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
5.14.195.14.21

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.14.20

Ūti· What drives us to act
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.14.20inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

स एव पुनर्निद्राजगरगृहीतोऽन्धे तमसि मग्न: शून्यारण्य इव शेते नान्यत्किञ्चन वेद शव इवापविद्ध: ॥ २० ॥

sa eva punar nidrājagara-gṛhīto ’ndhe tamasi magnaḥ śūnyāraṇya iva śete nānyat-kiñcana veda śava ivāpaviddhaḥ.

Translation

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued speaking to Mahārāja Parīkṣit: My dear King, sleep is exactly like a python. Those who wander in the forest of material life are always devoured by the python of sleep. Being bitten by this python, they always remain in the darkness of ignorance. They are like dead bodies thrown in a distant forest. Thus the conditioned souls cannot understand what is going on in life.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Make Time for Spiritual Cultivation

  1. 1

    Sleep is compared to a python that swallows the conditioned soul. While asleep, one forgets life’s purpose and what one should do.

  2. 2

    Material life centers on eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Spiritual realization requires reducing absorption in these activities.

  3. 3

    The Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana engaged constantly in spiritual cultivation and slept very little. The purport also acknowledges that the body requires some sleep.

Key points from the purport
  • Material life means being fully absorbed in eating, sleeping, mating and defending.
  • For spiritual realization, one should try to avoid sleep as much as possible.
  • Following in the footsteps of the Gosvāmīs, we should try to reduce sleeping, eating, mating and defending.

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:

Thus they are like monkeys in the forest. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī thus explains the material forest and its difficult path to Mahārāja Parīkṣit.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. saḥthat conditioned soul
  2. evacertainly
  3. punaḥagain
  4. nidrā-ajagaraby the python of deep sleep
  5. gṛhītaḥbeing devoured
  6. andhein deep darkness
  7. tamasiin ignorance
  8. magnaḥbeing absorbed
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

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “understand”

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “material”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “king”

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 giving spiritual cultivation a place in my day, or letting bodily activities occupy everything?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today for spiritual study without cutting into needed sleep.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todayMake Time for Spiritual CultivationThis 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 5.14.20? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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