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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
5.14.305.14.32

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.14.31

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

तत्रापि निरवरोध: स्वैरेण विहरन्नतिकृपणबुद्धिरन्योन्यमुखनिरीक्षणादिना ग्राम्यकर्मणैव विस्मृतकालावधि: ॥ ३१ ॥

tatrāpi niravarodhaḥ svaireṇa viharann ati-kṛpaṇa-buddhir anyonya-mukha-nirīkṣaṇādinā grāmya-karmaṇaiva vismṛta-kālāvadhiḥ.

Translation

In this way the descendants of the monkeys intermingle with each other, and they are generally known as śūdras. Without hesitating, they live and move freely, not knowing the goal of life. They are captivated simply by seeing the faces of one another, which remind them of sense gratification. They are always engaged in material activities, known as grāmya-karma, and they work hard for material benefit. Thus they forget completely that one day their small life spans will be finished and they will be degraded in the evolutionary cycle.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Use Human Life for Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Activities meant only to improve bodily comforts can make us forget our short life span and what follows death. Human life is a junction where one can move toward promotion or degradation.

  2. 2

    The real purpose of human life is to engage in devotional service and return home, back to Godhead. Merely seeking a better material position does not fulfill that purpose.

  3. 3

    Following the regulative principles, chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and reading Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam purify the heart. These practices help one understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead and one’s relationship with Him.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mission, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, is trying to elevate śūdras to the brāhmaṇa platform so that they will know the real goal of life.
  • That is the real purpose of human life.
  • Instead of wasting time trying to attain a better position in material life, one should simply endeavor to return home, back to 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· 2

The purport of SB 5.14.31 quotesBG 9.25

As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (9.25): “Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.”

The purport of SB 5.14.31 quotesSB 1.2.17

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.17): “Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses the desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

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:

The demigods also witness, but the conditioned soul thinks that his attempts at sense gratification are not being witnessed by anyone. Sometimes, when he is detected, he temporarily renounces everything, but due to his great attachment for the body, his renunciation is given up before he can attain perfection.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.14
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Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatra apiin that condition (in the society of human beings descended from monkeys)
  2. niravarodhaḥwithout hesitation
  3. svaireṇaindependently, without reference to the goal of life
  4. viharanenjoying like monkeys
  5. ati-kṛpaṇa-buddhiḥwhose intelligence is dull because he does not properly utilize his assets
  6. anyonyaof one another
  7. mukha-nirīkṣaṇa-ādināby seeing the faces (when a man sees the beautiful face of a woman and the woman sees the strong build of the man’s body, they always desire one another)
  8. grāmya-karmaṇāby material activities for sense gratification
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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: “sense gratification”, “material”

  • Abhaya · Fearlessness

    Steadiness through faith amid danger and death. · Theme in SB 5.14

    In this verse: “death”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

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

    In this verse: “understand”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How much of my daily effort serves bodily comfort, and how much serves my spiritual goal?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra attentively.

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.

The purport quotesSB 1.2.17

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

Live this todayUse Human Life for Devotional ServiceThis 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 5.14.31? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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