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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
5.14.55.14.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.14.6

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

तत्र च क्‍वचिदातपोदकनिभान् विषयानुपधावति पानभोजनव्यवायादिव्यसनलोलुप: ॥ ६ ॥

tatra ca kvacid ātapodaka-nibhān viṣayān upadhāvati pāna-bhojana-vyavāyādi-vyasana-lolupaḥ.

Translation

Sometimes in this house in the sky [gandharva-pura] the conditioned soul drinks, eats and has sex. Being overly attached, he chases after the objects of the senses just as a deer chases a mirage in the desert.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sense Enjoyment Is Like a Mirage

  1. 1

    Overly attached to eating, drinking and sex, the conditioned soul runs after sense objects. The verse compares this pursuit to a deer chasing water in a desert mirage.

  2. 2

    The purport distinguishes the spiritual world from the material world. Seeking peace in material enjoyment is like seeking water where there is none.

  3. 3

    Lord Kṛṣṇa describes the material world as both miserable and temporary. Even someone willing to remain amid suffering must change bodies and enter another condition.

Key points from the purport
  • There are two worlds — the spiritual and the material.
  • The material world is false like a mirage in the desert.
  • Similarly, those who are animalistic try to find peace within the desert of material life.

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:

Sometimes he is a demigod in the heavenly planets and sometimes a most insignificant creature in the lower planetary systems. In this regard, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, nānā yoni sadā phire: the living entity passes through various species.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.14
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. tatrathere (in this phantom place)
  2. caalso
  3. kvacitsometimes
  4. ātapa-udaka-nibhānlike the water in a mirage in the desert
  5. viṣayānthe objects of sense enjoyment
  6. upadhāvatiruns after
  7. pānato drinking
  8. bhojanato eating
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: “attached”, “material”

  • 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

What enjoyment do I keep pursuing as though it could give me lasting peace?

Practice

Pause before one urge for sense enjoyment today and reflect on the image of a deer chasing a mirage.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

Live this todaySense Enjoyment Is Like a MirageThis 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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