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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 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa
5.18.125.18.14

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.18.13

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.18.7inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

हरिर्हि साक्षाद्भ‍गवान् शरीरिणा-

मात्मा झषाणामिव तोयमीप्सितम् ।

हित्वा महांस्तं यदि सज्जते गृहे

तदा महत्त्वं वयसा दम्पतीनाम् ॥ १३ ॥

harir hi sākṣād bhagavān śarīriṇām

ātmā jhaṣāṇām iva toyam īpsitam

hitvā mahāṁs taṁ yadi sajjate gṛhe

tadā mahattvaṁ vayasā dampatīnām

Translation

Just as aquatics always desire to remain in the vast mass of water, all conditioned living entities naturally desire to remain in the vast existence of the Supreme Lord. Therefore if someone very great by material calculations fails to take shelter of the Supreme Soul but instead becomes attached to material household life, his greatness is like that of a young, low-class couple. One who is too attached to material life loses all good spiritual qualities.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Spiritual Strength Comes From the Lord’s Shelter

  1. 1

    A crocodile is powerful in water but loses its strength on land. Similarly, a living entity manifests spiritual power by remaining in contact with Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    Material education and greatness cannot replace shelter of the Supreme Soul. Attachment to materialistic family life leaves even a learned person without spiritual strength.

  3. 3

    Everyone should seek shelter of the Supreme Soul, the source of all living entities. Life should be directed toward spiritual cultivation and taking shelter of the Lord, rather than temporary material happiness.

Key points from the purport
  • When the living entity remains in contact with the all-pervading Vāsudeva, the Personality of Godhead, he manifests his spiritual power, exactly as the crocodile exhibits its strength in the water.
  • Everyone should therefore seek the shelter of the Supreme Soul, the source of all living entities.
  • In the Vedic civilization, this type of crippled life is allowed only until one’s fiftieth year, when one must give up family life and enter either the order of vānaprastha (independent retired life for cultivation of spiritual knowledge) or sannyāsa (the renounced order, in which one completely takes shelter 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.

How it feels

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 18: The Prayers Offered to the Lord by the Residents of Jambūdvīpa

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The conditioned living entity has the defect of being always fearful, but simply by the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he can rid himself of this defect of material life. Therefore the Lord alone can be addressed as master.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.18
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. hariḥthe Lord
  2. hicertainly
  3. sākṣātdirectly
  4. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. śarīriṇāmof all living entities who have accepted material bodies
  6. ātmāthe life and soul
  7. jhaṣāṇāmof the aquatics
  8. ivalike
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Moha · Material attachment

    The pull of ego, desire and impermanent relationships. · Theme in SB 5.18

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

  • Śaraṇāgati · Wholehearted surrender

    Relinquishing ownership while entrusting oneself to the Lord. · Theme in SB 5.18

    In this verse: “shelter”

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 seeking strength in temporary material greatness or in my relationship with the Lord?

Practice

Set aside five minutes otherwise spent seeking material enjoyment to pray for shelter of the Supreme Lord.

Live this todaySpiritual Strength Comes From the Lord’s ShelterThis 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 5.18.13? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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