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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.
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Canto 5 · Chapter 14: The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment
5.14.225.14.24

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.14.23

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

अथ च तस्मादुभयथापि हि कर्मास्मिन्नात्मन: संसारावपनमुदाहरन्ति ॥ २३ ॥

atha ca tasmād ubhayathāpi hi karmāsminn ātmanaḥ saṁsārāvapanam udāharanti.

Translation

Learned scholars and transcendentalists therefore condemn the materialistic path of fruitive activity because it is the original source and breeding ground of material miseries, both in this life and in the next.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Offer Your Activities to the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Activities pursued for material enjoyment become a breeding ground of suffering in this life and the next. Attachment to sense gratification prevents one from recognizing this condition.

  2. 2

    The Vedas teach that one should awaken spiritual consciousness and seek the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Doing, eating, giving and performing austerities should become offerings to Him.

  3. 3

    The results of work should serve the Lord’s mission rather than personal sense gratification. Spiritual knowledge reaches its conclusion in surrender unto His lotus feet.

Key points from the purport
  • Not knowing the value of life, karmīs create situations whereby they suffer in this life and the next.
  • Unfortunately, karmīs are very attached to material sense gratification, and they cannot appreciate the miserable condition of material life, neither in this life nor in the next.
  • Therefore the Vedas enjoin that one should awaken to spiritual consciousness and utilize all his activities to attain the favor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

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 5.14.23 quotesBG 9.27

The Lord Himself says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.27): “O son of Kuntī, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.”

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 14: The Material World as the Great Forest of Enjoyment

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Nonetheless, despite these disturbances, he does not want to give up his family life, and he continues his fruitive activities in an attempt to become happy in the future. He thus becomes more and more entangled in the results of karma, and thus he is forced to act impiously.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. athanow
  2. caand
  3. tasmātbecause of this
  4. ubhayathā apiboth in this life and in the next
  5. hiundoubtedly
  6. karmafruitive activities
  7. asminon this path of sense enjoyment
  8. ātmanaḥof the living entity
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: “materialistic”, “attachment”, “sense gratification”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “knowledge”

  • Karuṇā · Compassion

    Concern for others expressed through bhakti. · Theme in SB 5.14

    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

How could the result of one ordinary activity become an offering to the Lord?

Practice

Choose one task today and consciously dedicate its result to the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 5.14's connections

Live this todayOffer Your Activities to the Supreme LordThis 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 5.14.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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